Blood Mage
by SilverFlameoftheWindScar
Summary: Used and abused, Harry is ready to give up on life. His magic saves him at a friend's insistance. A few changes are made very quickly to the Wizarding World, and Harry's behind every single one of them. Powerful!Harry Creature!Harry Dark!Harry HPLV GWDM
1. Chapter 1

Blood Mage

Chapter One

Disclaimer: If it ain't owned by J.K. Rowling, then it's mine.

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Harry watched as blood pooled around his battered form. _I may have protection from Voldemort,_ he thought to himself, _but what does that mean for the ones inside the barrier with me?_ He coughed laboriously, feeling blood well up in his throat, choking him further. He felt his magical core activating, trying to save his life.

"Well, boy, I guess this is the end for you," a gleeful voice commented. Harry opened his eyes and gazed at his uncle from the floor, wondering, as block spots appeared in his vision, why his uncle had a knife. He felt the blade cut deeply into his skin but never cried out. "Goodbye, freak."

A soft smile came to Harry's face as he looked at a hand being held out to him. "Siri?" he questioned softly, looking up into blue eyes and a face which had the years in Azkaban erased.

"It isn't your time, Harry. Stop taking this punishment. It isn't meant for one so pure of heart. You are not to blame for my passing. It was my fault alone because of my carelessness with facing Bellatrix. She only fired a stunner, Harry."

"Sirius…" Harry whispered, still trying to reach for the Animagus.

"Harry…Prongslet… Let your magic loose. Let it save you." The man's face was sad, a tear slipping down his cheek. "People will not be safer without you. Without you, the ultimate evil will have free feign over the entire _world_, Harry. Only _you_ can kill him; you know this. Don't let us down, Harry. Your mum, dad, and I love you dearly and want you to grow _old and gray_. We love you…"

"I love you, too…" With that, Sirius faded and Harry released control of his power.

Vernon, from Harry's door, turned to face the boy when a sound like sizzling reached his ears. _He really _is_ a freak!_ the fat man thought before a crimson whip slashed his stomach open, spilling his innards to the floor.

"Goodbye, Uncle," Harry said coldly as all of his wounds healed with the speed of sound. _How nice of my magic to heal me with the thinnest scars possible. Thank you,_ he thought fondly before going downstairs to see to the end of his aunt and cousin.

--

Albus Dumbledore, leader of the Light, sat at his desk in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts when one of his many instruments started making an awful racket before melting. The old man knew he would have to be extra careful with his weapon then. What he didn't know was that his weapon was out of his grasp already and had been since the end of the Triwizard Tournament.

--

Harry felt the power within his body grow by leaps and bounds with the death of his last blood relatives. "Have fun with their souls, Mum," he whispered before banishing their remains. _I'm gong to have to be quick with this,_ he realized as he took hold of his wand and watched the wood burn away from the core. As the feather caught fire, he pressed it, tip first, into his chest to his heart. "Now _this_ is pain," he groaned, but still never cried out. "I hope my alcohol tolerance is this high."

Gasping, he utilized his book-learned Occlumency to force the pain away, while digging through the kitchen for bacon and eggs. With a sigh, he said, "Not that I'm happy about killing, but I'm glad the Dursleys are gone." Standing, he scribbled a note and sent it to the Order's Headquarters. Moving quickly and easily, he got around the Order members guarding his house. "It's time for a change," he said before a flash of scarlet brought him to Diagon Alley and he quickly made his way to Gringotts. "Griphook," he murmured, tapping the Goblin's desk.

"Mr. Potter, you're just in time for the reading! We thought you weren't going to make it," the Goblin said excitedly, knowing that he could act that way around Harry.

"Reading?"

"Yes," Griphook answered, leading the wizard to a large set of double doors. "Mr. Sirius Black's will, Mr. Potter. We are very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," the boy replied softly.

"If there is anything we can do, let us know. We owe you for finding the loophole in all the laws placed upon us." Harry smiled at the small person before entering the huge room.

"Harry!" Remus exclaimed with a large smile. "It's good to see you in such good health!"

"You, too, Prof…Moony." Harry pulled the werewolf into a hug, knowing that his magic was slowly changing his body to make him strong enough to physically handle his power.

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore's voice drifted over to them. "You can't be here; it isn't safe. Voldemort could attack and hurt you and all hope would be lost!"

"Shove off, old man!" Harry shouted at him. "You never cared for my well-being! Don't act like you do! Besides, with my parents, godfather, _and_ relatives – my last line of guardians – gone, I am considered an adult! You can tell me to do nothing!"

Dumbledore slipped a disappointed, grandfatherly expression on his face. "You sadden me, Harry, my boy," he said, hoping to play a guilt trip on the teenager.

"I'm not your boy, Dumbledore, and using guilt against me won't work anymore. We are desecrating Sirius's spirit by having this argument here so sit down, shut up, and keep your damn comments to yourself!" His power exploded from him, shattering the hourglass on the desk across the room. He walked over to the chair a Goblin was gesturing to.

"Now we begin the reading of the will of Sirius Orion Black." The Goblin set out a bowl which Harry recognized as a Pensieve. Sirius came out of it, standing atop the liquid.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, of sound mind – _quiet, Remus!_ – and body, now speak my will. But! For starters – Harry, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT! Now, I give Remus Lupin one million galleons. Buy some robes, Moony. Nymphadora Tonks, I give you one million galleons and welcome you back into the family, along with your mother and father. To Albus Dumbledore, I give you my moldiest socks and warn you to leave my godson alone.

"To the Weasleys, I leave one million galleons for caring for my little Prongslet. Otherwise, stay away from him Ronald Bilius Weasley; you are no friend to spy on him for Dumbledore. Hermione, I leave you two-hundred, fifty thousand galleons. Care for Harry like the brother he is to you and leave Dumbledore.

"Narcissa Malfoy, I, as Head of the House of Black, hereby decree your marriage null and void. Take care of your mother, Draco, with one million galleons to your name.

"And, to finish off, Harry, my little Prongslet…I leave everything left to you. Go out, live! Get a tattoo, get a few piercings…get laid! Moony, teach him to ride Blue Sky! I love you, Harry, Moony, Cissa, Draco…and I don't want to see you for a _very_ long time! Goodbye for now."

"I love you, too, Siri…" Harry choked as the image faded. Standing slowly, he looked over at the two blondes in the room. "Miss Narcissa, _Draco_, I want no more feuds between you and myself…" A moment later, he felt a warm weight on his left index finger.

"So decreed by the Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black… So mote it be," Narcissa and Draco said together before standing.

"Potter…it will take time, but I believe I'll come to like you," Draco said. "I just wish you would've taken my hand those years ago."

"I was over our rivalry when I saw tearstains on your face," Harry admitted, brushing the streaks away. "I regret not taking _your _hand…but will _you_ take _mine_?" He held his hand out, prepared for rejection.

Draco _smiled_ before doing so and pulled Harry to him. "Get resorted, snake in lion skin." Harry grinned before nodding, watching as everyone left. "Take care…Harry."

"You, too, Draco!"

"Mr. Potter, please come with me. We need to sort out the terms of your parents' will," the Goblin said from behind him.

"Of course. Thank you, " Harry replied, shocking the creature before following.

--

Two hours later, it was a very shocked Harry Potter who walked out of Gringotts and nearly fell down the stairs. _I've got _that_ much! Holy fucking hell!_ Finally, he shook himself out of his stupor. _Time to listen to Sirius,_ he thought, going to the Wizarding optometrist's office.

When the Boy-Who-Lived returned home, it was in a pair loose-fitting leather pants and a black muscle shirt with two piercings in each ear – two in the right lobe, one in the left, and one in the left's cartilage. There were new tattoos on each of his biceps and one on his back from his belt to halfway up his back.

He had also found a hairstylist and had his hair lengthened to his shoulders, layered, highlighted in midnight blue, streaked in emerald green, and tipped in blood red. An odd combination, but he wasn't really known for being normal.

He was grateful to the optometrist, as well, for correcting his eyesight completely and using certain spells that would give him infrared, night, and x-ray vision with no more than the will for it. He had thought it'd be a wonderful idea because of the fact that there were wizards out to kill him. Also, he had figured, it'd help to get away from his guards.

_Wonder who that is,_ he mused, the sound of footsteps reminding him of just how much his magic had changed him and the fact that it still was. Walking over to the door, he opened it to see Remus Lupin standing with his hand poised to knock. "Who saved us from your transformation?"

"Buckbeak. What did Sirius tell me to do?" the werewolf asked in response, his wand aimed at the seemingly-unarmed Harry.

"Buy robes and teach me to ride Blue Sky." Harry grinned and pulled his ex-professor inside the house. "I'm going to answer your question now. Siri told me to live."

"I understand, Harry, and I'm not going to go crazy like Molly or Hermione. Er…where are the Dursleys?" Remus asked abruptly, looking around for the family of horses and blubber. A sigh pulled his attention back. "Harry?"

"Can I trust you, Moony? Can I trust you completely to know that you will just _listen_ until I'm finished explaining?" Remus contemplated for a few moments before sitting down and giving Harry his full attention. "Thanks, Moony…" Then, the whole story came out. From the beatings by Vernon to the man almost killing him to Sirius coming to him – all the way until that point. "See, Moony? That's why I don't trust anyone and have such a temper…"

"Let me see your tattoos!" Remus suggested, knowing the teen needed a subject change. Harry turned his arms toward his Honorary Godfather. "The kanji for blood?" Harry nodded before pulling the back of his shirt up. There was a beautiful ice-colored dragon, moving as all wizard pictures do. It was sleeping, breathing deeply. Above it read, 'I am the Sleeping Dragon' in Gothic lettering. "That's amazing, Harry! Does it ever wake?" The werewolf was astonished at the amount of detail put into the tattoo.

"Yeah, if he feels like it or I'm feeling a strong emotion. I had him tied to them. I named him Cruor." Remus looked up at him. "Yes, it is Latin for blood, but he likes it." A smile stretched over the dragon's face and one emerald eye opened. "See? I'm feeling really happy right now, so he is, too."

"Wow… He's gorgeous, Harry." Remus ran a finger over the smooth skin, but found himself feeling small elevations in the teen's skin before the shirt could be dropped. "Harry, take your shirt off."

"I'd…rather not."

"You're worrying me, Harry," the ex-professor replied, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. Sighing, Harry removed the clothing in one fluid movement. "Dear God…"

"My magic left the thinnest scars it could. I'm grateful to it for that. It would've been worse had I gone to a doctor, so don't say that I should have." Harry turned away, giving Remus a chance to see a tear fall from Cruor's eye. Reaching over, the sandy-haired man pulled the boy into a hug. "Thank you so much, Remus…"

"Anytime, cub; you are my first priority," he werewolf replied, pulling Harry's shirt back over the fifteen-year-old's head. It was then that he noticed the multiple amount of small scars along the boy's arms; caused, not by Harry, but by his uncle and figured that, if he ever saw them, his legs were the same. _I'm so sorry, Harry…_ he thought, sadly gazing at the marks.

The Boy-Who-Lived gave a genuine smile before going toward the kitchen. "Come on. It's passed dinnertime and I _know_ you haven't eaten."

"You can cook?!"

"Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley certainly couldn't," he answered, gathering steak, potatoes, and green beans from the refrigerator and pantry. "Now, watch a master at work!" he exclaimed dramatically.

--

"Good heavens, Harry! I'd think you really are a master chef if I didn't know better!"

Harry closed his left eye, winking as he said, "Thanks for the compliment." Snapping his fingers, the dishes were clean. "Do you have to go back to Headquarters?"

Remus sighed. "I wish I didn't."

Harry scoffed. "Then don't. It's as easy as that. Dumbledore doesn't rule your life."

Remus mumbled something, forgetting about Harry's soon-to-be-unmatched senses, but was reminded when picture frames exploded. He jumped, staring at the teenager, whose eyes were glowing.

"What?" Harry growled, another glass fixture shattering.

"Dumbledore keeps the Ministry away from me. They know I'm a werewolf but they can't touch me because he's vouching for me. If he knew you told me all this then I didn't tell him…" Harry pulled the werewolf to him, feeling a protective streak surge through him. "See, Harry? I can't do what I want."

"I think my word will matter more to our dear Minister. If he's in _my_ good graces, he'd think he'll be better with Dumbledore, too." The Werewolf looked up toward the ceiling before turning a grateful expression to the boy. "Come on, let's go to bed and we'll visit our _esteemed_ governmental leader tomorrow."

Remus knew that the teen would get angry if he thanked him, so he only smiled. "Show me to a room, Harry."

--

That morning, Remus was in a new set of burgundy, silk robes and Harry in extremely-dark, emerald, silk robes as they walked through the Ministry of Magic. _I can't believe he wore his earrings,_ Remus grumbled laughingly in his thoughts.

The two stepped up the Minister's secretary. "Do you have an appointment, sirs?"

"No, but I think he'll take time to see me," Harry answered, running a hand through his quad-colored hair and making sure to show his scar.

"O-of course, Mr. Potter! Right this way!" The secretary opened the door for them, announcing them to give the Minister time to organize himself.

"Minister Fudge… I see you are in good health," Harry said by way of greeting, mentally laughing when the man's eyes bugged out upon seeing him. "I'm afraid that pleasantries are far from this meeting, however. There is a purpose to my abrupt visit."

"What would that be, Mr. Potter?" Fudge asked sweetly, making the teenager want to puke. "What is that…that…_werewolf_ doing here?!" he shouted, pointing at Remus.

"Why, Minister, that's why I'm here," Harry stated in a carefree yet dangerous voice. "You've not been very kind to my Honorary Godfather at all, have you? I can't stand for this any longer.

"He was to be my guardian if _Sirius Black_ wasn't able to by James and Lily Potter's will…my _parents'_ will. And no! I don't care if he's a werewolf. Remus J. Lupin is a human everyday except for one measly night every month." Harry knew he'd just taken the proverbial wind from the Minister's sails. "You're disappointing me, Minister."

"We…we can certainly have him excused from the laws…" Fudge tried to redeem himself.

"What about he rest of the werewolves, Minister? Why should Remus be treated any better than them? They'll hunt him down and hate the Ministry even more." Harry decided to play his trump card. "Exactly how powerful do you want Voldemort's army to become?" Fudge stuttered, his face frightened. "I'd suggest getting rid of the restrictive laws as soon as possible."

"I-it will be done, Mr. Potter," the Minister said, trying to find a way to get the situation back under his control. "You will, of course, take responsibility, correct?"

"Of course. I'll also be the one known for getting this situation under control in exchange." Harry's smile turned mischievous as he knew Fudge's foundation had been shaken harshly. "I'd be concerned with the other creatures as well, Minister. Good day," he added before sweeping from the room with a wave of his robes.

Remus followed him, hiding his shock until they had left the Ministry. "That was _amazing_! Shouldn't you be in Slytherin?" he asked jokingly.

"Yes," Harry answered seriously, "If not for Dumbledore's staged acts, that's where I would've been. I am going to send a letter to the Sorting Hat so that I can be placed correctly." Remus stared, shocked, before Harry disappeared in a flash of dark red. The werewolf quickly followed his signature. "Harry! Are you out of your _mind_?!"

"Maybe, but they can't find me. My wand core and magical core are one, now." The boy winked before stepping into Number Four, Privet Drive. "See Remus, I can handle myself."

--End One--


	2. Chapter 2

Blood Mage

Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: If no one else owns the original stuff, it's mine.

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It wasn't but a week later when Remus, still living with Harry, was awoken at midnight by a scream. _It…sounds like Harry…but I've never heard him scream like that…or at all,_ he realized, throwing himself out of the bed and down the hallway. "Harry! Cub! Can you hear me?!" he questioned loudly, trying to open the door before getting irritated and taking his wand out. "_Alohamora_," he whispered, a satisfying click sounding from the door's lock.

"Rem…Remus… Get…out…" Harry gasped as his magic lashed out again, tearing another heart-wrenching scream out of him. _And I thought my wand core bonding with my magical core was painful…_ he mused to himself, not knowing how he was able to do so at the moment. "Moony… Go… It'll…hurt…" He bit down on his lip, stopping the next pain-filled sound trying to escape from him.

"Harry, I am _not_ leaving you like this. Your magic isn't even _attempting_ to hurt me and I think it's because it knows you trust me!" the werewolf replied, gently touching the boy's forehead.

"Rem-" Harry was cut off when, suddenly, as if Remus's touch triggered it, all the scars his magic had healed tore open at one time. He whimpered slightly, but nothing else. _If there is a God…let me live through this…_ he thought but realized it was praying. _Something I haven't done since I was really small…_

"Harry… Your blood… It's…sizzling!" Remus stated and, if the boy hadn't been incapacitated at the time, he knew Harry would've said, 'Thank you, Captain Obvious' or 'No shit, Sherlock.' _Whoever Sherlock is…_

"Outlet… Gotta go somewhere…." Harry replied softly, feeling stronger now that his magic wasn't ripping at his body any longer. The old wounds healed as if they'd never reopened a few minutes later. "Bleeding out the old blood to let my magic create new… They've practically fused together." He sat up and flexed his hands. "Wicked!"

"By the way, Harry. Happy Birthday," Remus said, reminding the boy that he was officially sixteen.

"One more year and I can cast magic without anyone bugging their eyes out at me!" he shouted, jumping up and slightly surprised when he found that his pajamas fit perfectly. _Well, I did buy them a bit big so that my magic would grow me into them…_

"Harry…look at yourself in the mirror…" the ex-professor whispered to the sixteen-year-old. Harry did so and nearly fell over. "You seem surprised."

"I _am_ surprised, Moony… I knew my magic was changing me, but I didn't think it was _this_ much!" He looked a bit closer into his full-length mirror. He found that he had a lithe physic that would make lifetime athletes green with envy. His eyes had a shimmer to them that caused the green to become even more unnatural. The different colors in his hair seemed to shine while the original color looked to be an even darker black than before. "Yes!" he pumped his fist in the air. "I grew a couple of inches!"

The werewolf watched amusedly while his…nephew?…did something of a victory dance. "Harry…calm down. It's the middle of the night, and I think it might do some good if you got a bit of rest."

"Yeah, I guess. My magic isn't finished with me yet, but the painful part is done," Harry acquiesced. "I've gotta send a letter to the Sorting Hat, too. Don't let me forget."

"Of course not, Harry. Good night, err…morning." Remus hugged the boy and pressed a fatherly kiss to his forehead. _He may have grown a bit, but he's only about six feet tall. He should've been about six-foot-three or –four. Damn those Dursleys…_ he raged in his mind as he lay down to go back to sleep.

--

Later that morning, the werewolf awoke to the smell of eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy. "That smells wonderful," he said to Harry as he came down the stairs.

"I sliced a tomato, too. I love those things dipped in gravy." The boy had the pan's handle loosely gripped in his hand, flipping the eggs fluidly and easily. "Master at work," he said with a wink before flipping the yellow breakfast item out of the pan and into a bowl just as easily. "Eat up, Moony. I'll be back in a second."

"Your second had been used a few minutes ago!" Remus shouted up the stairway, grinning at the quad-color-haired boy when he came down the stairs with an annoyed look on his face. "Sorry, Harry. I couldn't resist."

"I'm sure," was the reply as Harry sat down and served himself some breakfast. "I've got a question: when's the next full moon?"

Remus was silent for a moment as he thought. "In nine days; why?"

"I want to go with you."

"Now, Harry-"

"Animagus practice last year after Snape cancelled my Occlumency lessons," the boy said quickly, cutting Remus off and sending the werewolf into shocked silence. "Exactly. It was the perfect cover. My friends never asked and no one else did either."

"Can you…can you complete the transfiguration already?" the amber-eyed man asked softly.

"Yeah. I already know what I am. I've just got to get a slight color right. I should be able to do so, now that my magic has run its course and the fact that nothing is holding me back anymore."

"What…is your form, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well, how about I give a bit of what _I_ am?" Remus nodded. "I found this in a book the other day, which told me that, basically, I'm a Blood Mage… At first, my animal didn't make any sense, but now it does. I'm a Bloodcat." The Marauder looked confusedly at him. "It's got a body shape between a panther and a tiger – grace and power. Its fur is such a dark crimson that it's almost black with black stripes, adding to the effect. And it lets me become one with shadows, or shadewalk."

"Can I see you, Harry?" Remus asked, the hopefulness in his eyes swaying Harry's decision at that very moment.

"Let's go up to my room so that no one can see. I want to keep it a secret that the cat is me," he answered, clearing the dishes and spelling them clean before going upstairs. He waved his hand, cleaning the blood from his room, and closed the window and curtains. "I don't want anyone but those whom I tell to find this out."

"I understand, Harry. If this got to the wrong people, it'd spell disaster for you," Remus replied. "Harry, if I called you my nephew, would you be offended?" he asked abruptly.

Harry stared in shock for a moment before a big smile broke out on his face. "I'd be honored!" he answered, hugging the werewolf tightly. "Now, let me get back into the motions for a second. I haven't done this in a while because the Dursleys would've killed me sooner."

Remus stored that bit of information away behind a solid barrier in his mind with the other things Harry had told him when he'd first come to visit. "Take all the time you need."

After a nod, Harry focused on his own body and the image he wanted to change into. _Hands and feet to paws, arms and legs to hind and forelegs…_ he thought slowly, picturing the animal in his mind. In the next instant, he had shifted into the form of the Bloodcat which his Animagus ability had chosen for him. He let out a soft sound as he shifted and shook his fur out.

Remus stared at the dark-colored cat as he smiled. "You're beautiful, Harry," he said to his recently-made, honorary nephew. "If I started calling you Rayne, would you be offended?" A feline grin came across the Animagus's face, glad that he'd finally got the blend of colors correctly. "I'll take that as a no."

Harry nuzzled the man's hand, which, standing a little above the tall man's waist, wasn't too difficult. Remus took the invitation to run his fingers through the large cat's fur, finding the midnight stripes in the slight sunlight that was able to come through the curtains. Harry purred, moving to brush himself against the werewolf, technically marking the man as part of his family and territory.

"Your fur is like silk, Harry. I hope you know that some of the traits of the animal carry over to your human self." The boy shifted back into his normal body, grinning. The smile fell from his face when Remus stared, again, shocked. "You've…got more than I thought… You've got bestial fangs, Harry… Not like the top two of a vampire, but four – two on top and two, slightly smaller, on bottom… I can't see your scar either…"

"Interesting," the sixteen-year-old mumbled, getting used to talking around the fangs in his mouth. "At least I won't have to worry about getting all my daggers and knives nicked if someone captures me or something." _Even though I did tie the weapons to my magic and I'll always be able to call them to me because of it._

"What do you mean, Harry?" Remus asked him as they walked back down and sat in the living room.

"Well, after Sirius's will, I went into Diagon and Knockturn and bought a bunch of things. In Knockturn, I got some daggers and knives so I'd be able to slit my skin to use my Blood Mage powers. Now, if someone takes them, I can use my teeth to break the skin.

"I think I could also force open the scars my magic healed," he explained before trying the last part. He watched, fascinated, as an old scar on the back of his arm split open. Standing, the blood trailed down to his fingertips. He flung his arm up, sending the magic-infused blood at the wall with the will for it to pierce. "Wicked!"

"You'd be good at darts, Cub," Remus said with a laugh.

"Holy fuck," was all Harry said before a grin came over his face as the scar healed and he cleaned the blood from his arm and other surfaces. "It's gonna be funny if someone tries to hurt me, isn't it, Moony?"

"Yes, Rayne, I think so."

--

The odd pair stood outside of a forest, specifically the forest at Hogwarts, waiting for the full moon to crest the mountains. "I'll be _fine_, Moony, and I'm not going back to the house."

"I'm worried, Rayne! Cats and dogs don't match!" Remus replied, not wanting to hurt his best friend's son if he could help it.

"I'm a big cat. I can take care of myself and possibly _you_, as well."

"I'm not going to get you to budge on this, am I?"

"Nope," Harry answered simply. "Get ready," he added softly, hugging the werewolf before shifting into his Animagus form. He purred softly as he brushed up against the man before backing away to let him the room to transform. _Thank God for wolfsbane,_ he thought to himself as, in under a minute's time, a werewolf was standing before him. He purred softly, projecting the emotion of relaxation and trust all around him.

Moony looked up and stared at the Bloodcat for a few minutes. Harry thought that, for a split second, the wolf was going to reject him, sending sadness through him instead of fear. What seemed to be a smile came over the werewolf's face before the nocturnal creature let out a howl. Harry followed a few seconds later with a roar, showing his respect by allowing the wolf to sound first.

A feline smile came over the Animagus's face when Moony came over and nuzzled him. Other than that, he stayed still while the creature inspected him. Shockingly, it was the werewolf who submitted the position of power. After that, the two ran off into the Forbidden Forest, enjoying a fun and playful night as two normally-opposing creatures romped through the trees.

--

It was the night before the beginning of September and the start of the new school year when a letter in blue-violet ink came to Harry. He opened it and found that it was, somehow, from the Sorting Hat. _How does a hat right a letter?_ he wondered before actually going back to read it completely instead of skimming to find the sender.

_Mr. Potter,_

_I received your letter stating a request for you to be resorted. It is to my understanding that you now realize _why_ I wanted to place you in Slytherin. You truly are a crafty mind, Mr. Potter, and, as it seems no one wishes to tell you, your mother was also nearly placed there._

_That is beside the point, however. You will be resorted, but after the First Years and Dumbledore will announce you. When I had given Dumbledore the list of to-be-Sorted students, he had nearly soiled himself when he had seen your name among the list._

_All of that aside, I look forward to seeing your mind again,_

The Sorting Hat "Well, that was certainly interesting," Harry commented to himself as he put his schoolbooks away and packed his trunk. He lifted the trunk onto his shoulder, thankful, again, to his magic for enhancing his body beyond all standards, and burned the letter in his hand. He knew that someone was waiting downstairs for Remus and himself and he didn't want to let anyone know, just yet, that he could do magic outside of school. He was planning to shock the entirety of the people staying at Sirius's…his house when he got there. Dumbledore's lucky I'm still letting him have his Order there. 

"Harry! It's good to see you!" Arthur Weasley said as he came to the stairs. Someone Harry didn't expect was with the man.

"Draco! It's good to see you both!" He shook Arthur's hand before grabbing the Malfoy heir into a fierce hug. "How's life treating you?"

"Fairly well. Especially since my mother and I emptied my father's bank accounts into another vault no one but ourselves can get into." Draco leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I may agree with _some_ of Voldemort's ideas, but my father is a complete fool. He'd jump off a cliff if the Dark Lord told him to do so."

"I agree with some of Voldemort's ideas, as well," Harry whispered in reply, chuckling at the blonde's shocked look. "Don't seem so surprised," he added a moment later before they pulled back from the hug.

"You've grown, Harry. I dare say you'll be fending off even Trelawney," Draco informed, laughing when the Boy-Who-Lived shuddered.

"TMI, Draco…" At the confused expression, Harry elaborated, "Too much information."

"Well, I think we'd better be heading back to you-know-where," Arthur cut in, a smile on his face. "Er…Where is Remus?"

"He's probably finishing up his packing," Harry answered, just hearing the closing of a suitcase upstairs. He shifted from one foot to the other as he waited for the werewolf. "Hurry up, Moony!"

"Leave me alone, Rayne! I'll go at my own pace! The Express leaves _tomorrow,_ not _tonight_!" Harry laughed when a trunk came flying down the staircase with an oddly energetic werewolf standing on it. "Now then… How are you, Arthur, Draco?"

"We're fine, sir, but we _do_ need to be hurrying. A certain meddlesome coot seems to need to speak with our resident Gryffindor," Draco answered as Arthur withdrew an old boot.

"Taking an old boot out of your cloak isn't really all that inconspicuous, Mr. Weasley," Harry mentioned, his face deadpanned. "Now, using a newspaper is inconspicuous…sort of." He waved his hand a moment, brushing the subject aside, and placed a fingertip on the worn fabric of the footwear as he grabbed the handle of his trunk. "I hate portkeys," he groaned before the hook-behind-the-navel sensation came from his stomach.

"Ah! Harry, my boy!" a voice exclaimed when the group landed in the entrance to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"_I HATE FUCKING PORTKEYS!_" Harry shouted from the floor, which he had face-planted onto.

"That can _only_ be my brother!" a feminine voice carried over from the stairs before Harry found himself scooped up into the arms of his surrogate sister. "I think even Ron wouldn't curse like you," she continued, laughing as she hugged his leather-clad form tightly.

"Love you, too, 'Mione," he replied with a gasp, knowing his face was turning blue.

"Wow! You've certainly changed!" she exclaimed, her eyes widened in shock as she took in his new style. "I love the earrings," she added, inspecting the loops. "And…are those _tattoos_?! Oh my God, Harry… You really went all out!"

"Of course. Have you ever known me to half-ass anything?" She giggled at him as the clan of redheads swooped into the room. "Although, you missed one. I'll show you later," he whispered to her, deciding to tell her everything. _After all, Siri told her to take care of me,_ he rationalized as Mrs. Weasley swept him into a hug.

"Oh, Harry, it's so good to see you. I take you've been eating well?" The matriarch of the Weasleys cast a sharp eye up and down his form. She nodded, as if he finally fit to what he should've been. "If those Dursleys weren't dead, I'd kill them myself for treating you the way they did."

At what she said, Harry muttered, "You don't know the half of it," to himself. _I'm glad I'm good with glamours._ He remembered casting the spells earlier that day, making sure to cover everything except what he wanted to be shown.

"I love the hair, Harry," Bill Weasley, eldest of seven, admitted as he came up to the sixteen-year-old. Harry grinned at him while Molly groaned.

"Okay so…he's Bill. You've _gotta_ be Charlie," Harry said to the redhead standing beside the eldest Weasley child. The muscled dragontamer nodded, smiling at the boy.

"Of course. I don't look like Percy, now do I?" was the response question, getting a laugh from the Animagus.

"I certainly hope not," Harry answered with a wide grin, thankful for the glamour hiding his teeth.

"Well," Molly cut in, "How about a spot of supper and then we'll be off to bed. We've got to be up _bright and early_ tomorrow morning to catch the train." She looked at her youngest son when she emphasized the need to be awake sooner than noon.

Hermione and Charlie sniggered before glancing at each other and smiling. "Am I missing something, 'Mione?" Harry asked the girl, sure to be stealthy when he snuck up behind her.

"N-no…why?" she asked him, a nervous upturn of her lips cluing him in.

"Like a certain, second-eldest redhead do we, Sister mine?" he teased before something struck him. "I thought you liked Ron?"

"Pft. He's too immature. I can hold a decent conversation with Charlie and it doesn't get turned to anything else!" she hissed in reply, smacking him. 

He moaned in mock-pain. "Oh God…Hermione… You've killed me…" He fell over, moaning and groaning as he rolled over the floor. Suddenly, he felt a foot stomp into his stomach. "Owie…" he gasped, looking up into amused brown eyes. "Okay, okay… I'm just teasing. No need to go all PMS on me, 'Mione."

"You think this is PMS, Harry James Potter!?"

"Uh oh, mate-"

"-she used the full name!"

"RUN!" Fred and George shouted, grabbing Harry protectively and rushing him into the kitchen. "Quickly! Take up the knives! We've got the forks!" Hermione stormed into the kitchen to find herself being faced with two butter-knives and four forks. "Back, demon! Back!"

The three held the position for a few moments before Harry doubled over, laughing. "Bloody hell… That was fuckin' funny!" He could feel Hermione's disapproving glare boring into his head but ignored it in favor of holding himself up from the floor by grabbing the back of a chair.

"Watch your language, young man!" Molly's voice carried to his ears as he finally calmed.

"I'll have a hard time, but I'll try," he said, getting a glare from the Weasley mother as well. "What is it with women and foul language? They're just synonyms! Take fuck for example – you could've stubbed your toe. Shit, damn, and hell work the same way. Ass is the same thing as bum. Piss means your either drunk, angry, or you need to use the loo."

"That is true, mate," George said, getting a grin from the Boy-Who-Lived. "Anyway-"

"-Mum's going to fatten you up!" Fred finished as he pulled out a chair for his twin to push Harry into.

Hermione sat beside him and, again, hugged him tightly. "We've missed you, Harry. When you told the Headmaster off at Gringotts, we didn't know what would happen to you." She leaned close to his ear. "I was afraid Dumbledore had done something to you when I didn't hear from you. The man scares me sometimes."

"Don't worry, Sister mine," Harry replied soothingly with a genuine smile. He looked back at Molly for a moment before his eyes widened comically. "Mrs. Weasley! You _can't_ expect me to eat _all_ of that, can you?!"

"I very well can and you very well will. You're thin enough as it is," she answered, sitting the huge plate of food in front of him.

"But…I'm solid _muscle_! I'm supposed to be thin!"

"Not skin and bones, you're not."

"But I'm _not_ skin and bones! I'm skin, bone, muscle, ligament, tendon, artery, vein, capil-" Hermione smacked his head. "Okay, okay…I'll _try_…"

"You'll not be leaving the table until it's all gone, Harry!" Molly cut in, smiling at the boy's humor.

"Get me a pillow, would you, 'Mione? I think I'm gonna be here all night!" His head was smacked again, getting a grin from him as he picked up his fork and dug into the food in front of him with gusto.

"Go Harry, go Harry, go!"

"You're going to be eating more than Fred and myself combined!" the twins laughed as Remus walked into the door.

"Moony! Want a bite?"

"I'll get my own plate; thanks anyway, Rayne."

Harry stuck his tongue out at him but was secretly surprised that no one had asked him about the name yet. _Spoke too soon,_ he realized when Hermione asked him just that. "I'll tell you later, okay?" She wasn't pleased but nodded anyway. He then turned back to his plate and finished. "Damn…I was hungrier than I thought!"

"Harry-"

"-friend-"

"-surrogate brother-"

"-contributor to the cause-"

"-we need to speak with you." The twins grabbed and arm each and lifted him from the floor, carrying him through the house to what he figured was their experiment room.

_Disaster room is more like it,_ he thought to himself as he sighted all the scorch marks and parts of wood that had been blown out of the floor and walls. "Geez, guys. What the bloody hell are you doing to my house?!"

"Don't worry about that right now," George said to him, the seriousness in his voice stalling Harry's amusement.

"What's Dumblefuck up to?" he asked, all playfulness gone from him.

"Well, as of right now, he's going to try to cast something on you with a potion. You'll have to be careful of what you eat," Fred answered after casting several complex privacy charms on the door.

Harry gave an affirmative sound. "Anything on Snuffles?" Fred and George looked at each other with slightly sorrowful gazes. "Nothing new?"

"Well, we've got something," they answered together, George continuing with, "It'll take an awful lot of power to puncture the wards on the Veil. If you go through with it, you could be lost to us."

"I already figured that. Anything on the spells enchanting it?"

"It matches something like a Dementor but only takes evil souls to the other side," Fred supplied.

"So Siri is definitely trapped there," Harry concluded. "We need to uncover the exact spellwork needed to get through that."

"We've got an Unspeakable on it for us," the redheads said abruptly, causing a smile to bloom on the Animagus's face.

"You two are absolutely irreplaceable, you know that?" The two nodded with huge grins. "I won't ask who it is. It could compromise him or her completely." They nodded as one before staring at him piercingly. "What?"

"You're different and you've got glamours all over the place," they answered together.

"How did you…? Nevermind," Harry said, removing the spells. _After all, they've seen my scars,_ he figured, remembering the prank they had sprung on him that had removed all of his physical secrets. Even so, they still winced at the magnitude they could see on his arms.

"Wow," they murmured, shell-shocked.

"Quite the bombshell, isn't it?" he asked playfully, grinning to show off his fangs. "No, I'm not a vampire. My Animagus form's traits carried over to me quite a bit more than expected." He could already tell they were going to ask, so he answered, "Bloodcat."

"Merlin's pants, Harry! You've got to be a Blood Mage then!" they exclaimed, making him overly appreciative of the privacy charms on the room.

"You know more about the animal than I thought. Congratulations," he said, sarcasm dripping from the last word. He shifted into the form in a instant, mentally laughing when the twins' eyes widened. A soft sound came from him before he rubbed up against them.

"That's why Remus called you Rayne-"

"-your fur looks like running water," they thought aloud, bending down to run their hands through aforementioned fur. Harry purred contentedly, his tail flicking back and forth in pleasure. A knock suddenly came to the door and, in a split second, Harry was back to human, George was chasing him with some concoction, and Fred was answering the door while simultaneously disabling the charms.

"Get that fucking thing away from me!" Harry shouted as Bill was let in. The sixteen-year-old found himself tackled to the ground by Fred, which gave George the opportunity to shove the candy down his throat. He bit his lip harshly after choking, a magical shockwave throwing Fred off of him and lifting him into the air. The sixteen-year-old rolled onto his stomach, trying to cough up the candy.

One of the scars on his left arm opened, blood running softly down his skin. It seemed that his infused blood had a mind of its own and was trying to comfort him as he thrashed from a pain inside of him. Suddenly, it ended.

Harry flipped onto his back, breathing raggedly. "What a rush…" he gasped out, a grin on his face. The scar closed as Harry sent a soft pulse of gratitude to his magic as his glamours reinstated themselves. "Holy shit… I am _definitely_ getting some of that…" He knew enjoying pain was odd but didn't really care – it was one of the things that made him feel alive.

--End Two—


	3. Chapter 3

Blood Mage

Chapter Three

DISCLAIMER: If it's not owned specifically, it's mine.

(--)

The next morning, Ron had to be beaten awake by Ginny and screamed at by Hermione before he'd finally gotten himself together to leave for the train. Of course, he'd had to pack as well, which Hermione had fussed over.

Harry had walked by what used to be a shared room between Ron and himself, but, when he had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room, the house had transported him to the master bedroom. He knew he'd always remember that with fondness as, in that one action, the house had cared for him more than what was supposed to have been his family had in his entire life.

Harry's trunk came flying down the stairs with himself surfing atop it. He gave an excited whoop, loud enough to awaken the painting of Sirius's mother. As she started screaming obscenities and other things about the people occupying _her_ house, Harry came up to her and shouted, "_MY_ HOUSE! You want to stay here in the care of your beloved Kreacher? I suggest you shut the fuck up! It was someone from your _pure_ family who sent _your own son_ through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries!"

"My…my Siri is dead?" she asked softly, her hands flying to her mouth in horror.

"Keep it to yourself but…hopefully not for long… After all, I'll never let my godfather stay like that…" Harry whispered so quietly that only the painting and he could hear.

"I'm sorry for all of my foul comments…" the woman replied but was shocked, again, when the very person she'd been slandering the entire time merely waved her apology off kindly.

"Ma'am, I've been called worse by my own blood relatives. Don't worry about that, though I do need you to still act like a bitch. So, at this point, I bid you farewell and close your drapes." She merely smirked slightly before the curtains were pulled shut. Harry sighed, drawing an annoyed expression over his face before anyone could see him. "Well," he said as he walked by someone that he didn't know. "Are we leaving or are we going to stand here like a bunch of useless lumps?"

"Oh! Of course!" the person answered, snapping to attention before racing through the house, alerting everyone to the departure of the Hogwarts students. Harry calmly stood beside Draco with Hermione on his other side. He grinned when he sighted Charlie standing next to her. "All right, you lot! Here's the portkey, so hang on to your things!"

Landing on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, Harry found himself, again, facedown on the ground. "_I HATE FUCKING PORTKEYS!_" he shouted for the second time in as many days. The people around them stopped and stared as he picked himself up from the stone floor. "_What?!_" he nearly yelled at their staring. "Yes, I curse! It's not like you don't hear it every damn day!" He walked off to the train, mumbling something about 'fucking hypocrites staring at me all the damn time; hope their asses burn in hell so they'll piss off'.

After hugs from Mrs. Weasley, handshakes from Mr. Weasley, pats from Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George, warnings to be careful from the Aurors, a scream of '_CONSTANT VIGILANCE_' in their ears from Mad-Eye Moody, smiles and well-wishes from Remus (with a hug to Harry), and, to Harry, winks from the twins, they all boarded the train. A compartment was quickly accosted. Harry merely snorted when Ron wouldn't sit with them, thinking it was better for them all if the 'backstabbing bastard' would go about his own way.

"I should hit you for that remark about my brother, Mr. Potter," Ginny announced haughtily.

"Oh?" Harry asked, deciding to humor her.

"Except for the fact that I wholeheartedly agree with you," she finished with a very Slytherin smirk.

"Do I detect a bit of a match between yourself and our favorite blonde Slytherin?" Harry asked with a sly grin. The famous blush took over her face, getting a chuckle out of him. "Now, how didn't I smell the fact that you're all over each other?"

"Smell?" Hermione asked as Ginny dropped all pretenses and settled herself into Draco's lap. His arms wrapped snuggly around her waist, pulling her back against his chest and letting him bury his face in her flame-like hair.

"Exactly. My magic has changed me so much that even a werewolf on a full moon wouldn't have senses to match mine. I'm surprised you didn't ask about my eyes or the fact that I've gone from a scrawny little fuck into a frikkin body-builder in a little over a month," Harry answered, laughing when her face impersonated someone who'd just eaten a lemon. "But I'd forgotten. You have a dragontamer after your heart just as Ginny has the dragon."

A fierce blush came over the brunette's face, but her brown eyes glared playfully at her surrogate brother. "You may think this funny, Harry James Potter, but I don't hold for that for one second. Besides, you're rubbish at keeping a girlfriend," she teased, but was thrown off by his grin.

"Good thing I'm partial to the rougher sex then, 'Mione," was the response, causing her mouth to drop open. "Flies, sweetheart, are better attracted with honey."

"Okay then, what's up with your glamours?" she asked next, having seen the very slight air displacement that came from them. _Harry must be good at those to get them to work so well when he's still so young,_ she realized belatedly. "How good are you with glamour spells, exactly, Harry?"

"Well…Only you and the twins have been able to see them…but you three are overly observant." The answer surprised her, and, when she'd been about to ask another question, Harry beat her to it. "I've been casting them since I read about them in my first spellbook."

"Then what are you so keen on hiding?" she inquired, realizing that this was the most she'd ever gotten out of the normally-tightlipped boy. "Is there something you are afraid to show, Harry…?"

"Yes," he answered seriously, his teasing demeanor dropped with that one word. "I've made them so powerful that not even Dumbledore can get them off. Only I can. If you truly want me to show you, I will." Harry watched as she bit her lip. As she thought, he turned his attention to Draco and Ginny. "What about you two? Do you want to see what I've only shown one other person of my own free will, so to speak?"

"Who's the other?" Draco asked before Ginny could answer.

"Remus. I trust him more than anyone else because he's never given me a reason not to. Fred and George, as I told you, saw through my spells," Harry answered before all three people in the compartment nodded. With a sigh, he dropped all of his spells. The shine of his eyes and hair didn't even distract them from the scars marring the only part of skin shown – his arms. "I've got scars everywhere except my most private places – thank Merlin – and my face, neck, and hands. Everywhere no one normally sees is disfigured."

Hermione leaned over to him and gently traced the thin lines across the flesh of his left arm. "Harry…why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What would you've done, 'Mione? Tell me to go to Dumblefuck. He'd tell me that I was lying, modify my memory, give the Dursleys a warning – which they'd beat and starve and overwork me worse for – then tell me to go back to the Tower, get some sleep, and have a nice day. Damn old, goat-fucking codger," he said, grumbling the last part.

"Harry…little brother… I'm so sorry…" Hermione murmured before burying her face in his chest, hugging him tightly. She looked up at him, his face turning to a pained look at the tears in her eyes. He ran a gentle hand through her bushy hair before pulling her back to him and embracing her in return. "Why did you… What didn't… How can you never cry, even when you talk of this?"

"The freak can't cry, 'Mione," Harry whispered into her hair, his eye twitching when she pinched him. "That's what they'd always say when I was about four. I burned my hand while cooking breakfast for them, cried, and Vernon beat the shit out of me for it. He said, 'If you ever cry like a human again, you worthless freak, you'll wish you'd never been born.' See? I'm used to it."

"No wonder my taunts never seemed to faze you," Draco realized, his jaw slackened. "I guess the instilled image into all Slytherins really isn't true, huh?" he asked softly as he and his revealed-girlfriend stood, both enveloping Harry in hug with Hermione.

"Thank you, my friends… Thank you for caring."

--

After the train ride, which they had found out about his being an Animagus and his form of a Bloodcat, the four were walking into the Entrance Hall. Harry had an arm around Hermione's and Draco's waists with theirs around his own while Draco's other arm was wrapped around Ginny. "I'm going to have to wait with the First Years," Harry whispered to them. "I took Draco's advice," he added at their inquisitive stares.

"H-Harry…" a voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Yes?" Harry looked over his shoulder to see his pale dorm- and classmate. "Neville? What's the matter?"

"It's… You can't be evil, Harry, right?" he quickly asked, keeping his stuttering off in his haste.

"Of course I'm not _evil_, Nev. There's a difference between _evil_ and _dark_. I've just grown into the gray of things. I'll tell you this, though: it's easier being in the gray because you get to see both the light and dark without anyone manipulating you." The answer made the timid Gryffindor smile in relief. "Now, if everyone else could understand that…"

"I'll try to help you with Gryffindor, Harry. I'll stand up for you even if no one else will," Neville declared, determination and confidence filling his voice, expression, and posture.

"Thanks, Nev. It makes me feel loads better to know that I've still got one roommate with me." The boy smiled at the quad-color-haired boy before leaving into the Great Hall to sit at the lion's table. "I'll see all of you in a little bit. Sit with the Snakes," he said, saying the last part to Hermione and Ginny. Harry watched with a small smile as they walked into the humongous room.

For a second, he picked up the scent of a magical aura that he felt he should know. "Mr. Potter, I need you to come with me to gather the First Years," said the person and, at the voice, Professor McGonagall was revealed.

"Of course, Professor, although you may not like me so much after the sorting is finished," he replied with a downcast look.

"Why ever would you think that?" she asked as they walked over to a side door.

"Well…" Harry bit his lip before finally answering, "When I was Sorted in First Year, the Hat wanted so badly to place me in Slytherin… I've seen now that it was right. I'm not irrational enough to be in Gryffindor…well, when I _know_, without the shadow of a doubt, that I'll be able to save a person in danger." He caught her eyes before she could sniff disdainfully at him. "Self-preservation…survival… It's been incrusted into my being since Dumbledore left me on the Dursleys' doorstep… Don't distrust me because of something that I couldn't prevent, Professor McGonagall."

The stern woman stared at him for a few moments before a soft, rare smile turned her lips upwards. "Mr. Potter…Harry, I knew what would happen when Albus made the most foolish decision of his unbelievably long life. I couldn't blame you for your Slytherin qualities anymore than I could Tom Riddle when I watched him become You-Know-Who. He was…trapped, for lack of a better word. Albus returned him to an orphanage every summer where he was severely mistreated…much like yourself."

"Tom and I really are quite a bit alike, aren't we?" Harry asked softly, wistfully, before coming back to himself. Taking the chance that had presented itself, he quickly embraced the Scottish woman. "Thank you, Professor."

"You are very welcome, Harry," she replied, patting his back. "Now, Potter, let's greet the new generation." The sixteen-year-old groaned in mock-distress, finding himself nursing a lump on the back of his head as they entered the room.

"Need a few drying charms?" he mumbled sarcastically, looking at all the soaked First Years standing on the stairs. Discreetly, he flicked his wrist, chuckling softly when the children jumped, suddenly dry. _Was I ever really that small?_ he wondered before a cackling came to his ears. Looking at his currant Head of House, he noticed that she hadn't heard it yet. Growling, he yelled, "Peeves! Don't you dare!"

The balloons that nearly pelted the eleven-(and odd twelve)-year-olds were stopped. Harry was certain they held flour from the kitchens in them. He banished them as the invisible poltergeist blew a raspberry before cackling could be heard leading through the walls.

"Merlin, I hate him," Harry grumbled as Professor McGonagall looked at him.

"Ten points to you for protecting the First Years, Potter," she said, her stern look still in her features. Harry grinned at her before turning back to the new students, an equally unmovable expression etched in his face. _He's learned more from me than I had thought,_ she realized with a mental laugh. Turning to the students, she began her speech. "You are soon to be Sorted before the entire school of Hogwarts. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Good deeds will _earn_ your house points while misdeeds will _lose_ house points.

"I shall return for you when the Hall is ready. In that time, I expect you to smarten yourselves to a presentable level," she explained and finished before turning to Harry. "Keep them in line, Mr. Potter. Matter of fact, they need to be keeping _you_ in line." With that, and sniggers at the wryly smirking Animagus, she left to the Great Hall.

Harry scoffed lightly, "I'm always in line. It's everyone else that has the problem with me." He blew his hair out of his face, accidentally revealing the tell-tale scar. He had spelled it unhidden to keep inquiries from being directed his way. At the gasp from the few children who'd noticed, he wished he would've listened to his gut instead of his head. "Yeah, I'm Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Won't-Die, Ministry Scapegoat, Defeater of Dark Wizards, and whatever else they're calling me these days…except the insane, attention-seeking nutter. I'm not that one."

The new students laughed, getting a small smile to come over his face. A little girl who looked no older than ten came up to him, wringing her hands in front of her in nervousness. "Er…Mister Harry Potter, sir…" she lightly stuttered.

He gave a soft laugh and kneeled down to her eyelevel. "It's just Harry, sweetheart. None of that 'Mister' or 'sir' stuff," he said gently with a crooked smile curving his lips. _She's gonna be heartbreaker when she hits about Fourth Year. Guys are gonna drop dead,_ he figured.

"Um…Harry, then…" she amended quietly. "Are you…really going to defeat You-Know-Who?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who. If you mean Voldemort, then you should say his name. By fearing it, you fear the thing itself." Many gasps had echoed at the use of the created name, but he ignored them in favor of continuing the conversation with the small girl in front of him. "I know that they're saying that I'm the 'Chosen One' and all that rot, but I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. No one is that strong."

She leaned close to him, remembering what her parents had said about revealing their secrets. "It's not Voldemort I'm speaking of," she whispered. "It's the one with the mane of white and eyes of blue…and the most horrid fashion sense of anyone I've ever seen." Harry instantly knew she was talking about Dumbledore. He also noticed that she seemed to only be putting up an act when unable to speak, or whisper – as the case may be, with him one-on-one.

"I understand your hesitance to speak of Dumbledore's faults. The old man is a fool," he whispered in reply before a slight sniff told him of Professor McGonagall's approach. "We'll speak more later. Don't worry." He stood after playfully ruffling her hair, getting an appropriate blush from her to keep up appearances to those around them.

Professor McGonagall came into the room after the girl had scuttled back into the throng of children. "The Great Hall is ready for you." The Head of Gryffindor lead all of them into the Great Hall then, but Harry hung to the back, leaning against the wall beside the large oak doors.

The wide brim of the hat on the stool opened and it started to sing. Something about the song created a feeling of foreboding in Harry, but he stuffed it away to be looked into later. He also learned that the girl he'd been speaking to was named Melinda Edgecombe. The boy gave her a smile when she ran to the Slytherin table. _I'll be seeing more of her than I had first thought._

Soon, the Sorting had finished. Dumbledore stood, waiting patiently for the Hall to become silent. "Now, we have one student who petitioned to the Sorting Hat to be Resorted…something as of yet only done once. I believe we already know who this person is so, if Harry Potter would come to the stool?"

Harry glared up at the Headmaster for making him seem so insignificant in such a manner, as if he were someone who'd broken the rules and was getting reprimanded for it in front of the entire school. After a few moments of the twinkling eyes, he snarled at the old man. Walking with a grace so fluid that he seemed to not touch the floor, the Sorting Hat was placed upon his head. _Long time, no see._

_Certainly, Mr. Potter. I take it you received my letter?_

_Of course! I would've been terribly upset if someone had messed with it._

_Yes, yes… But, that is neither here nor there. Back to the matter at hand, it seems you've changed since the first I'd seen your mind, Harry Potter. You've become even more Slytherin than before. And is that…? Well, I say to follow your gut with that decision._

_It's telling me to do so…but my mind doesn't agree._ A few moments of silence came from the Hat and it worried Harry slightly. _Er…Mr. Hat?_ he asked softly.

"Gry- _SLYTHERIN!_ HOW DARE YOU, HEADMASTER?!" the Sorting Hat shouted from Harry's head. "How dare you presume yourself above the laws set by Founders Four! _**I**_ shall be the one Sorting these students, not your underhanded tactics!"

_You're nearly spinning my head at a one hundred-eighty degree angle!_ Harry alerted the animated fabric. Something suddenly clonked him on the head, knocking him dizzy for a moment. "Got another lump…" he grumbled before lifting the Hat from his head and finding the Sword of Gryffindor on the floor. Picking the blade up reverently, he held it close to him.

"That sword belongs to _you_, Harry Potter. From Godric Gryffindor to me, I give it to you. Only a _true_ Gryffindor can wield it!" The Sorting Hat stood on its brim on the seat of the stool. "It truly is no wonder you were so difficult to place…" It winked at the boy, who correctly understood the meaning behind the words.

_I've got Slytherin qualities but…Gryffindor blood… What _else_ is that damnable bastard hiding from me?!_ Harry slowly raised a dangerous glare to the Headmaster. "Watch yourself Dumbledore. You've got another heir on your hands," he growled before grinning and walking over to the Slytherin table. He plopped down between Draco and Hermione, Ginny on Draco's other side. "Can't be a normal year, can it?" he asked loudly, getting sniggers from the green and silver table as the rest of the students, except for the ones of the Lion's Den, all turned away, mildly or utterly embarrassed.

--

Before the four separated, Hermione and Ginny to the Gryffindor Tower and Harry and Draco to the Slytherin Dungeons, many wishes for each to 'be careful' were passed between them. Draco kissed his girlfriend gently then the girls both received kisses on the forehead from Harry.

"Remember, Gin, leave enough of Ron for me. I don't want two of my girls getting in trouble after all," the Parselmouth said with a wink. Getting affirmatives from them, they went their separate ways, he and Draco chuckling at the two. "I think it's wicked, though, that you and Gin got together, Dray."

"Why thank you, Harry. I believe you'd be the only one to think so," Draco replied, his face a little grim. "What do I care anyway? It's my life and no one else is going to live it for me."

"Exactly," was the statement from the Blood Mage. "Dismemberment," he said to the snake on the wall. "Nice password, by the way. That's what I did to my cousin this summer. I ripped his limbs off one by one and watched him bleed to death. Messy, but satisfying," Harry admitted to Draco with a slight grin. The blonde looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Those asses beat the hell out of me."

"And that gives you the right to kill them?"

"Of course. Payback's a bitch then you marry one." Draco caught the meaning of the statement and cracked up with laughter. "See? Muggle sayings do come in handy….though I think that one was American."

"Bloody hell, Harry! Where do you come up with these things?!" the Slytherin asked as they walked to the dorms.

Harry shrugged, lifting Gryffindor's Sword onto his shoulder to keep from skewering a passing First Year. Lifting the boy by the back of his collar, Harry faced him and said, "If you want to keep all body parts where they are, you need to be more careful around here. Besides, you're a Slytherin. Act like it." He winked before setting the child back down and walking on with Draco.

"How'd you get so strong, Harry? I know people who work out constantly and they can't pick up a child as effortlessly as you just did," Draco inquired as he came to his room. "Oh, I guess this is where you'll be. There's an extra bed in here."

"You're forgetting, Draco," Harry started as the door was shut, locked, and charmed. "I'm a Blood Mage. My nearly-fatal amount magic and blood fused together. My magic changed me to be able to handle the amount of power that I have. It's a little scary with the fact that I could probably destroy Hogwarts, hell – five Hogwarts castles, if I'm not careful. I'd hate to hurt her. She's the only real home I have."

Draco whistled. "That is a bit frightening," he said as he dug pajamas out of his trunk while Harry unpacked completely with a wave of his hand. "How'd you do that?!"

"Made my wand and magic cores one," Harry answered simply, calling his pajama bottoms to him, foregoing the shirt. _Draco's seen my scars anyway_, he figured, changing in a fourth of the time it took his roommate. "Please, Draco. Don't worry about your hair before you go to bed. It's gonna be fucked up in the morning anyway."

"Yours is fucked up all the time, Harry," was the retort as the blonde brushed out the platinum strands. "Goodnight," he said to the other as he climbed under his bedcovers.

"Sleep tight, Dray." Harry followed his friend's example after letting all of his glamours fall away. _Those used to tire me out completely…_ he realized. _I've got much, much more power than I had first thought… Scary._ Drifting into dreamland, he found himself in a first person view of the Dark Lord wanking. _Lovely_, he grumbled in his mind before hearing something that mildly freaked him out: _his name being MOANED._

_'Potter?! Oh, bollocks,'_ the Dark Lord commented, a mental growl being sent to the reciprocator of the event.

_'Hello, Voldie…I never knew you liked me _that_ much. Wanking off to images of me?'_ Harry replied slyly. _'Although, the pictures you've got of me aren't really all that…_accurate_… Even my sister thinks I'm hot,'_ he added, knowing that, in the real world, he had to be smirking – even in his sleep. _'Besides, when did your skin go from all snaky pale to such a _warm_ and _lovely_ tone?'_

_'You can thank your Potions Professor, Potter, for the fact that I have retained the body of my eighteen-year-old self.'_

_'Damn. You were fuckin' scalding hot then at sixteen, too. Send me a mental photo,'_ Harry thought to Voldemort. _'I'll have something good to masturbate to.'_ He could practically _feel_ the raised eyebrow on the Dark Lord's face.

_'…You've changed…'_

_'Just noticed that, huh?'_

_'This is also the first time we've ever had a civil conversation without one of us throwing something pain-inducing at the other.'_ Voldemort felt his - _enemy's?_ – amusement through their connection. _'Yes, yes. Go ahead and laugh.'_

_'No, I wasn't going to… Honestly! I'd just realized that myself… But, you know, when you're not trying to kill or brutally harm me or my friends, you're a pretty nice guy.'_

_'What – _the fuck – _is the matter with you, Potter? And is that…the _Slytherin _dorm?'_

_'Right in one! I got Resorted! I was supposed to be in Slytherin in the first place, but I had just met this obnoxious blonde and couldn't bear to be in the same house,'_ Harry answered and, as opposed to before, he felt the humorous emotions of the Dark Lord.

_'I could get to like you, Potter… Maybe I won't be so eager to kill you next we meet.'_ Voldemort paused in that thought, wondering where it had come from. _Forget falling off my rocker – I've _lost_ my rocker!_ he thought to himself. Pulling his clothing back on, he got ready for bed as he sent one last message to his hopefully-soon-to-be-no-longer-enemy, _'You need some actual rest before the night's done. Goodnight…Harry.'_

A mental yawn escaped the actual sixteen-year-old as he replied, _'G'night, Tom,' _before falling away from the Dark Lord, who actually wasn't angry for the usage of his given name.

A smile came to the young-looking Dark Lord's handsome face as he focused on the mirror and his image before sending it to Harry. Voldemort lay down in his silk-covered bed, ready for a restful sleep. Or what would have been a restful sleep if he hadn't been thrust into a dream – a very _erotic_ dream – of Harry and himself engaged in a rather…_intimate_ activity. Keeping his presence hidden, he let the Avada-green-eyed youth's moans wash over him, feeling a tent being made in his pants.

_"Red eyes? Oh fuck…even hotter…" Harry arched up into the body above him, pressing their chests together, when a hand came in contact with his stiff cock. Whimpering slightly when the hand was removed, he very nearly came when a warm mouth replaced it. "Shit, shit, shit…shitshitshitshitshit…fuck… TOM!" he screamed his release, falling back against the mattress beneath him. _'Enjoy the show?'_ he inquired of the not-quite-hidden Dark Lord as his dream self ran his hands through chocolate-colored hair._

Harry found himself waking because of a blonde shaking him furiously, just hearing the _'if I wasn't, I wouldn't have an _erection_ right now!_' from Voldemort. Smirking, he looked up into his roommate's pale face. "Dray? What's the matter?"

"You…you were screaming, moaning, and groaning, Harry. I've heard about your bad dreams and… Well, it scared me a bit," Draco answered, biting his lip.

"That wasn't exactly a…_bad_ dream in the meaning you're thinking of. Now, 'forbidden' bad…you'd be right."

A crafty smirk came over the other's face. "So, who's the lucky guy?"

"How'd you know it was a guy?"

"You told me you were gay at one point, remember?"

"Oh…slipped my mind. Well, the _lucky_ one, as you put it, happens to be the person who _should_ be my mortal – or immortal, as the case may be by now – enemy but is quickly becoming the opposite."

Draco gazed at him levelly before a grin stretched across his face. "Harry Potter and Voldemort… I never would've thought…" he trailed off as he tapped his chin. "You are coming to Malfoy Manor for this Christmas. My mother and I happened to steal it from my father. We'll invite a certain special person for the break so you'll have time to…acquaint yourselves with one another."

"Just get me away from Dumbledore for a while and I'll be happy," Harry replied, realizing that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep. Retrieving Gryffindor's Sword, he stared at it for a few minutes. "Draco, remember when the Hat said to claim this sword?" Draco nodded. "How?"

"Most weapons in the Wizarding World are claimed by sealing them with one's magic. I don't know how that would work for you, though," the blonde answered, scratching his head in a _very_ uncharacteristic moment. "What do you thi- _What are you doing?!_" he shouted, nearly screeching the last part.

"Bonding," Harry answered simply as he focused his magic into the sword leveled, point first, at his chest. The blade started glowing and, before Draco could stop him, it was stabbed into the core of his magical power – his heart.

--End Three--


	4. Chapter 4

Blood Mage

Chapter Four

DISCLAIMER: I own what isn't specifically copyright – plot, story, original creations.

(--)

_He…didn't even flinch… That has to hurt like hell! _Draco was officially confused out of his mind as he finished rushing over to the Boy-Who-Lived. _Hopefully, he'll keep living…_ "Harry…" he whispered softly as the blade was pushed completely into the body of his friend.

Draco then noticed something. The blade wasn't coming out of Harry's back.

After a few more minutes, the wound caused on Harry's chest healed, and Harry scooped a bit of the blood into his hand. Dragging it through the air, the Sword of Gryffindor was immediately in his hand. "Perfect," he said with a smile. Looking over at Draco, he realized that he must've _really_ frightened him. "Hey, I'm fine. My magic and blood are one, remember?"

"I just…thought you'd killed yourself…"

"Nah. I've got three wonderful friends and a hopefully-special-someone to keep me from trying that. Besides, only Voldemort – or Tom – can kill me and only I can kill him."

"What makes you say that?"

"A prophecy. _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies._

"I haven't even told Hermione and Ginny about that yet… But…I don't want to kill Tom…"

"Do you know how many different ways that prophecy can be interpreted?" Harry looked over at him with hopeful eyes. Seeing the fact that it was who'd told him the prophecy that caused him to have no idea into their workings, Draco growled. "Dumbledore is going to die…" he snarled, grabbing his wand, ready to leave the room to commit the deed himself. Or he would have if Harry hadn't stopped him.

"Leave it, Dray. Help me with the prophecy that's hanging over my head."

Draco sighed as he walked over to his friend's bed and gracefully plopped down on it. "Well, think about it. Your parents defied Voldemort three times before he killed them, and you were born on July Thirty-First – the death of the seventh month.

"Next, the bit about _neither can live while the other survives_. It is painfully obvious that you are living it up right now, correct? Well, if Voldemort happened to be doing more than only surviving, that part of the prophecy would be completed.

"Then, _either must die at the hand of the other._ That's frightfully blunt, as well. Only you can kill Voldemort, or Tom, and vice versa. Thus, that means you're both immortal.

"After that, _he will have power the Dark Lord knows not._ I believe part of this is love because Voldemort isn't exactly intimate with the fuzzier side of the emotional spectrum.

"Lastly, _the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal_. I think it was at the time he gave you your scar that you were equal because you've both become so much stronger. Personally, I think you're more powerful…more-so than Merlin and the Founders together!

"I've got an Aura-O-Meter somewhere around here that classifies power by the rainbow – black and red are the weakest while lavender and white are the strongest – like a dark purple is stronger than a bright, pale blue, but the latter _can_ defeat the former. I can also tell you this: you are the only person I've ever seen to have a ­_solid, painfully-bright white_. Merlin was purple, Dumbledore is blue, Voldemort is blue-purple, and the Founders – combined, mind you – were a mildly paler purple than Merlin.

"It would take all of them to meet your color of white, Harry. You're damn bloody powerful." Draco came over to his roommate and, knowing Harry wouldn't mind, gave him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek

Harry pressed a chaste, familial kiss to the blonde's lips in return. It was at that moment that they heard the door open. "I do wish you'd wait until I'm here to do that. It's bloody hot!" They both looked over at Ginny with wide eyes before Harry hid behind Draco. The blonde ran from him as the redhead stormed over, getting a whimper from the Blood Mage. She pulled Harry down to whisper into his ear, "Go snog him, Harry. I promise I won't mind and I _know_ he won't." She winked at him before shoving him toward Draco.

Draco squeaked when Harry's arms slipped around his waist. "Harry," he squeaked again, "What are you doing?" His voice was unnaturally high-pitched.

"I swear this is Gin's idea," Harry murmured to his roommate before closing his lips over the blonde's.

_Well, my dear Ginny, I must say you certainly are lenient,_ Draco thought to himself before giving as much into the kiss as he got. He felt his friend's tongue touching his lips and gladly let it into his mouth, hearing a strangled moan from somewhere to their left. _Ginny likes this more than I do!_ he realized as their tongues battled between their mouths. "Now I know how to get my fiery, blue-eyed angel hot and bothered," he said to Harry, who grinned at his surrogate sister before licking a trail up Draco's neck.

A soft moan came from the blonde and the redhead, making Harry smirk mischievously. Slowly, sensually, and carefully, he licked a path from the Slytherin's neck to his ear, where he nipped, before continuing along his jaw to his lips, where he kissed him soundly. "Go to Ginny. I think she's about to start fondling herself," he whispered in Draco's ear then let the silver-blue-eyed boy go.

Harry found his way to his and Draco's private bathroom and let out a low whistle at the beauty of it. A pool, like the one in the Prefect's Bathroom but on a _much_ smaller scale, was sunken into the tile floor. Two shower stalls, quite large from what he could see, were situated in the corner. What surprised him the most was the fact that it wasn't only green and silver – there were beiges and blues, browns and oranges, reds and purples, and yellows and blacks. Looking around in wonder, he found white towels with a small, silver snake embroidered in the corner.

"Snakes got style," he laughed as he stripped out of his pajamas, waving his hand to start the tub to filling. "I am definitely going to relax. The only thing that could stop me would be Tom coming into the room from a secret passage that I know nothing about," he said to himself as he settled into the wonderfully hot water. Feeling the normally scalding water soothing his body, Harry couldn't help but let out a pleased moan.

'_You seem happy,'_ suddenly echoed through his mind, causing him to throw up all the Occlumency barriers he had while cursing himself for letting his guard down. _'Don't be so hard on yourself.'_

'_Who are you?'_

'_Who else has a mindlink with you? You're smart, Harry, figure it out.'_

Harry bit his lip at the compliment before asking, _'Tom?'_

"Exactly, and it seems that I'm going to stop you from relaxing," a voice said, this time not in Harry's mind. He looked up, a smile stretching across his face. "I do know of a secret passage from outside Hogwarts into the Slytherin dormitories. Draco certainly had no qualms to allowing me in here. The redhead definitely had him occupied."

"Tom? Seriously…?" Harry let his eyes rake over the form of the Dark Lord, from the chocolate-brown hair to his red eyes all the way to his feet and back up. _The aristocratic face suits him well,_ he thought as the brunette came closer.

"You were correct, Harry… Your image now is much better than the one I have of you from the Department of Mysteries," the Dark Lord admitted softly as he came up to the side of the tub/pool. Tom cocked his head to the side in confusion when Harry blushed and turned away. Kneeling down, he traced the scars on the Boy-Who-Lived's back. "Who…who did this?" he asked softly.

"My Muggle uncle…" Harry answered just as softly.

Tom noticed how the word carved into his back had numerous scars over it, making it nearly impossible to see. "He carved…'_slut_' into your flesh?! Has he no value for blood family?!"

"Well, no…and he'll never get the chance. I killed him…I killed all of them… My uncle, aunt, and cousin. May they forever burn in hell," Harry said, growling the last part. He turned to the man still tracing the scars and bared his teeth, fangs and all. "I'd kill them again."

"What did they do to you, Harry?" Tom's voice was so soft and caring that Harry couldn't help answering, the wind in his proverbial sails diminishing.

"Well, my aunt never really did anything to hurt me except yell and shove me in my cupboard…but she never did anything to help me either. My cousin used me as a punching bag while playing 'Harry Hunting'. And my uncle… He beat me until I couldn't breathe, let me partially heal - without a visit to hospital, of course – then started again. …I haven't been a virgin since I was about five or six…"

"He…_raped_ you…" Tom looked down at the scarred boy who was bearing his demons to him. Gently, the Dark Lord ran his long fingers through the multi-colored hair of who was supposed to be his enemy. "It's all right, Harry. My only request is that you don't blame yourself for any of it."

"I don't…it's just hard sometimes. I've tried to kill myself before, you know? It'd never work because of that fucking prophecy that Dumbledore _finally_ deemed me old enough to bear. It's that bastard's fault that Siri is beyond the Veil right now… If he'd have told me, I would have worked harder in Occlumency with Snape…and I wouldn't have gotten that dream from you…"

"Dream?! I never sent you any dreams! You may see my actions from time to time, but I've never done that!"

Harry looked up at him, seeing the honesty in the dark wizard's red eyes. His own eyes narrowed as his eyes slit because of his Animagus form. "That…bloody…useless… BASTARD!!" The glass sculptures in the room suddenly all shattered as Harry's growling intensified in sound level. The shards started circling around him, missing Tom completely and causing ripples and waves to form in the water.

Tom lifted Harry into his arms, ignoring his nudity, and held him tightly, whispering calming nothings in his ear. Slowly, the glass lost momentum. "Shh…that's it, Harry… Calm down… It won't do you any good to get into a fit. You are giving that old man the satisfaction of knowing that he hurt you deeply."

"I know, Tom…but it hurts so much… I trusted him… When I first came to the Wizarding World, Albus Dumbledore was like this beacon in the darkness for me… Now…he's become too bright…and _you_ are the shadow that protects me." At hearing that, Tom smiled – a genuine smile. Harry tucked his face in the man's neck. "I'm trusting you more than Dumbledore… But that damn prophecy is still hanging over our heads…"

"Would you tell me the prophecy, Harry? Maybe I can find a way around it."

"Draco did so this morning." Harry then told Voldemort the prophecy foretelling his 'demise' and what Draco had thought of it. The Dark Lord nodded, understanding the viewpoint. "I could definitely see that. You certainly have the power to 'vanquish' me if you're still having accidental magic outbursts of _that_ magnitude.

"By the way, I did enjoy that dream last night." The randomness of that statement from the Dark Lord caused Harry to start laughing. "I thought you needed some humor," Tom added with a chuckle. "I just wish that I'd known that you felt about me that way. I have since I actually _met_ you in your Fourth Year. If my Death Eaters hadn't been there, causing me to have to exercise control – basically by your torment – I probably would have kidnapped you and not killed the Diggory boy."

Harry winced at the remembrance. "Don't apologize, Tom… Everything happens for a reason…" he said softly when the Dark Lord was about to do so. "But I warn you…I'm not good with emotions… That's why Cruor is tied to them."

"Cruor, Harry? Who is that?"

"My dragon tattoo- Oh, I have a glamour over them…I hadn't even noticed." Tom raised an eyebrow at him, getting a blank look from Harry before the spells were dropped. "See? He's Cruor. And my blood kanji on my arms are for me being a Blood Mage."

"A…a…_Blood Mage_!? Holy shit, Harry!" The Dark Lord was, to say the least, shocked at that bit of information. "You…have to die to… Your uncle killed you?! Nearly bled you dry?!"

"Well….yeah… I wanted to die…to get away from the world's miseries. Sirius came to me and told me to let my magic save me, so it did and fused with my blood at the same time." Slowly, carefully, and gently, Harry found his chin being lifted by a thin, long finger. He and Tom locked eyes before their faces inched closer together.

As Tom's arm was wrapped back around him, Harry cast locking and silencing charms at the door. A comforting smile curved the brunette's lips when he felt the slight quaking in the boy's frame. "I'll not hurt you like that, I swear," he whispered before their lips softly met.

A soft moan came from Harry at the rose-petal-softness of Tom's lips upon his own. "You're better than the dream…" he whispered quietly, before being silenced by the older wizard's lips again. At the feel of a tongue on his bottom lip, Harry opened his mouth willingly, letting the Dark Lord explore to his heart's content.

When the lips and tongue trailed down his neck to his bare shoulder, Harry realized that they'd have to stop or go all the way. Planting his palms on Voldemort's chest, he gently pushed. "Wh-what's the matter?" he asked breathlessly, staring into the boy's barely-fearing eyes. "Are you…afraid of me…?"

"No… Never…" the ex-Gryffindor whispered gently, burying his face in the brunette's neck. "I can't get Vernon out of my mind…and I'm afraid I'll have a flashback and ruin the experience for us…" Tom smiled softly at him as he carefully stroked the sixteen-year-old's spine in soothing motions. "…I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize for that, Harry. Don't apologize for something you can't be responsible for."

"But I am! I could've stopped him! …My magic wouldn't activate though…so now I'm used-" A resounding _thonk_ echoed from the meeting of Tom's hand and Harry's forehead.

Harry had the funniest look of disbelief on his face that Tom had ever seen, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing, no matter how hard he tried. "Oh Merlin… That's hilarious…" he gasped, burying his face in Harry's side as tears started leaking down his face.

The sixteen-year-old glared at the Dark Lord with a fierceness not even Tom could hope to match, even in his Voldemort glamour. Quite suddenly, Tom found himself with a new weight on his head – a rainbow afro – and himself in a polka-dotted, multicolored, clown suit including the too-large pants with rim and suspenders. "Laugh at my misfortune again, all-mighty Dark Lord," Harry grumbled, sinking back into the still, nearly-boiling water. _'Good thing dear Uncle ruined my modesty,'_ he figured, not even blushing about Tom seeing him 'au natural'.

_'Modesty is something to cherish, Harry,'_ Tom assured him as he removed the spells, _'And, while you may no longer have it for your state of dress around me or people you trust, you are modest to the fault of believing yourself that you are not as powerful as you really are. That is true modesty, Harry. You have the capability to make anyone feel they are just as strong, if not stronger, than yourself, which makes the person feel more confident._

_'Take young Longbottom, for example, Harry. Where would he be if not for your patience in teaching that group…the DA…last year? He would still believe himself to be a useless lump that is only good for taking the blame his grandmother sits in tons upon him.'_

"Okay…okay… I get it…" Harry said softly, pulling his knees up to his chest, folding his arms over them, and resting his head on his arms. Tom watched as Cruor seemed to give a roaring cry of anguish while a few old scars on the boy's body opened, the blood pooling out of them seeming to give comfort. "It's my magic," the multi-haired teen said, picking up on Tom's inquisitive thoughts on the opening of his skin. "My magic and blood are one and the same."

"Now _that_ is amazing. You do know that you're the only Blood Mage to ever be in existence since before the Founders? Nearly before Merlin?" Tom asked, trying to tell Harry that he was special because he was different, not a freak because he wasn't normal. "And, personally, I do not believe it could have happened to a more worthy person in the world."

"I know… And people would freak out and call me dark, evil, and a traitor if they knew… Think of what they'd say if they knew I'm a Bloodcat Animagus?" Tom gave him a shocked look, causing him to look away and dip a finger into the water, running it around in circles, faster and faster, to create a small whirlpool. "Don't. Don't look at me like that…"

"I'm looking at you like this because I believe that you are absolutely stunning because of the fact that you can do anything you set your mind to!" A blush attacked Harry's face at Tom's declaration, causing him to look away for his hair to cover his face. "If you wish me not to stare at you in pity, Harry, I wish you not to look away from me because you are embarrassed. Cruor is blushing as fiercely as I know you are."

_'I knew that dragon was a bad idea…'_ he accidentally broadcast to Tom, hearing a deep chuckle from the brunette. Turning himself around, he captured the Dark Lord's lips with his own with a great amount of swiftness, surprising the red-eyed wizard with his quick movements. "Sorry… I just wanted to feel your lips again before someone comes storming in here wondering who the bloody fuck I'm talking to."

"A bloody fuck sounds good, actually, but I'd rather go for a bath at the moment. Would you mind a guest?" Tom asked with a soft tone. Harry shook his head with a smile, not stunned in the least when Tom spelled his robes into a neat pile beside his own clean clothing without his wand. "This feels good…" he mumbled as he sank into the hot water. "Seems you like yours about the same temperature as myself."

"I prefer it to nearly cook me…makes me feel a little cleaner when I get out." Another _thonk_ echoed from the meeting between Tom's hand and Harry's forehead. "Why do you keep doing that?!"

"Why do you keep trying to think that you're some dirty whore? You aren't, Harry. I understand the fact that no one has ever tried to tell you different and the only thing you have to listen to is the same Muggle who keeps calling you that over and over in your nightmares. Well, let me be the first to reassure you, Harry. _You-Are-Not-A-Whore._ Repeat it to yourself when you have nothing better to do and that fat waste of space comes back to your mind."

"Okay…"

"Swear that you believe me, Harry. If you'll not trust me on this, then I only ask that you try to believe me," Tom said, swimming up to him and staring into Avada-green eyes.

"I'll…I'll try…" Harry softly replied before looking at a spot behind the Dark Lord. The man sighed, pulling the teen's gaze back to him. "I'm sorry, Tom… I've grown up with it, so I never argued the point. Up until I went to Hogwarts, I always figured that every family had a single child hidden away that they treated like dirt, beat the hell out of, and, even though I didn't know this is what it was at the time, raped on a weekly occasion… That's how…little I knew about the world around me.

"Then, before I can even get my bearings in the Muggle world, I'm thrown into the Wizarding one. I was upside-down and inside-out for about a month before I finally allowed the thought that magic actually existed to get through my mind. Vernon literally pounded the fact that magic didn't exist into me. I thought I was just some kind of freak that no one wanted to associate with.

"Next I know, everyone in a fucking pub is running up to me and wanting to shake my hand, saying how they're so grateful to me and how the world would've been doomed without me. I thought they'd all lost their marbles!" Harry sighed, burying the heel of his palm into his forehead. "Nothing ever goes right for me, Tom. Knowing my luck, you'll be ripped away from me by the _noble, caring, grandfatherly_ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. But I…I don't want to lose you, Tom… You and Draco are the only ones to ever see beyond my mask of indestructible stone…"

The Dark Lord had never known just how much the teen had been through in the ten years he had lived with the Dursleys. If what he'd just been told had only been a summary, he had to admit that he was slightly put off by the prospect of hearing the rest of it. "I'm sorry you were placed with them, Harry. I am also sorry for your mother and father, but I am not sorry that they died in the war. As you said, my apologies for that would only make their deaths meaningless.

"You will never be returning to Number Four, Privet Drive, Harry James Potter. I state that as fiercely as I will ever be able to." Harry looked up at the taller man before letting a smile come over his face. "I agree, Harry. Enough of this dreary talk."

"Can I…kiss you again?"

"Of course, Harry…of course."

--

It was an hour later that Draco stumbled into the bathroom, mainly because Ginny pushed him, telling him to get ready for the day. What he didn't expect to see was Harry talking to a seemingly-eighteen-year-old Tom Riddle. Then again, that didn't make his eyes almost pop out of their sockets. It was that fact that they were both in the tub, nude as the day they were born, and seemed to not have done _any_thing involving certain parts of each other's anatomy.

Giving a wolf-whistle, Draco announced his presence. "Sweet Merlin, Harry. If you didn't have the oogle-eyes for our resident, super-powerful Dark Lord, I'd jump you right here!"

"Now, now, Draco. What would Ginny say if she knew you were considering cheating on her with me?" Harry inquired, his eyebrows raised with his face giving no indication that he was joking. He busted with laughter when the blonde paled, slapped a hand over his mouth, and stared at the bathroom door fearfully. "I'll not tell her, Draco; my word as a Blood Mage."

Draco snorted at him as he stripped. "I'd certainly hope not! She already likes seeing me, her boyfriend, kissing the sense out of you, her best friend. I'm afraid to see how she'd react to seeing us shagging!"

"Am I missing something here?" Tom asked Harry after poking the teen on the shoulder.

"Kind of," the Boy-Who-Lived answered with a slight sheepish grin. "Gin thinks guy-on-guy love is hot, so I kissed Mr. Malfoy here for her benefit…and his to some extent."

"He does absolutely _sinful_ things with his tongue, I'll tell you that. And those fangs can be something to die for," Draco cut in, getting a suggestive up-raising of Tom's eyebrows for Harry as he slipped into the water, yelping at the temperature before getting used to it. "And I mean _bloody sinful_, worthy of Satan himself!"

"Mind showing me?" Tom directed to Harry, getting a seductive smirk from the teen. _'I'll have something to _really_ wank to,'_ he sent to Harry, getting a mental chuckle in response. The ex-Gryffindor's eyes lit in a soft green glow, accentuating the Avada color, and he crept closer to Tom. _Those graceful movements are making me hard by just _watching

"Don't come on me yet, Tom," Harry whispered, suddenly at the wizard's ear, letting his tongue trace languidly around the shell. Claw-like nails traced on the heat-sensitized skin of Tom's chest and abdomen, getting a soft, slight sound from him. Harry blew gently on his ear before tracing his tongue in sensual circles down the man's neck. When he found the most sensitive of the skin, he skimmed his fangs across it, causing the Dark Lord's pulse to jump. "What if I were to bite you, Tom? Would you mind overly much?" he asked softly, suckling his way around the brunette's collarbone.

Red eyes widened before a soft growl came from the older wizard. "You would mark me?" he asked as he pushed Harry away, gripping the teen's upper arms. "_You_ would mark _me_?" he repeated, noting how the young wizard flinched even as he moaned softly from the pain.

"I…I'm sorry…I didn't…" Harry trailed off into another moan at a pain curse that ripped through his body. His back arched as he let his head fall back, panting. "Oh God…" He whimpered when nothing followed, leaning forward to capture the Dark Lord's lips in a passionate kiss. "Please…do that again…" he pleaded in a whisper against the man's mouth.

"You…_enjoy_ pain?" Tom asked softly, his demeanor seemingly doing a one-eighty. "Damn that Dursley…" he added in a fierce whisper as he pulled Harry back to him, the teen's face buried in his neck. "I'm sorry for your life, Harry…"

"Don't…apologize… It's not…your fault… Dumbledore put me there, not you…" Harry said, regaining his sense-of-self. "But…_Merlin_…that felt good…"

"So, pain turns you on? What would the Cruciatus do?" the Dark Lord wondered, giving a slight smirk to the ex-Gryffindor.

"Probably send me into orgasmic shock or something," was Harry's answer before he added, "Just so long as you use that possessive growl and sexy grin."

"Sink your fangs into my neck when I fuck you senseless, and I'll think about it." The sixteen-year-old groaned at that, wrapping his legs around Tom's waist. "But not today. The water is chilling uncomfortably and I do _not_ want young Malfoy to be in attendance."

"Dray's not so bad… His dad's the twat. Draco's a smart one…even invited me over to his manor, which he and his mum stole from the _true_ blonde, for Christmas." Harry yawned suddenly, speaking through it with, "I can always cast a boiling charm on the water, if that'll make you feel better?"

"Well, my cunning from-enemy-to-more-than-friend, it certainly would. Although, going at it in a bathroom shared with nearly-female Draco Malfoy certainly would swear him away from the place," Tom answered, getting a highly undignified splutter from the blonde.

"Thank you, I'll be fine as long as there's _plenty_ of cleaning charms," Draco responded, the Dark Lord's comments reaching through the haze of shock at seeing the way Harry reacted to pain. He looked at his friend and, seeing the bright smile on the teen's face, decided that maybe the Dark Lord was good for him. _After all, if he gets off on pain, Voldemort would be happy to oblige him._

"I shall warn you, Mr. Malfoy, that I am a highly skilled Legilimens and I do not take kindly to your thoughts. I was only making a slight experiment with the fact that I noticed the way our favorite Blood Mage reacted to stimuli of the painful variety," Tom said, causing Draco to cringe.

"Please, just don't _Crucio_ me in the bath, milord…" he requested quietly, on the receiving end of Tom's red-eyed glare for a few moments longer before he left the bathtub. After he dressed, he stared into Tom's eyes. "My only true request is that you be careful with my best friend. I don't want him hurt anymore than he already has been."

Harry looked at him for a moment then a smile broke out on his face. "Thanks, Draco…" he replied softly, watching his blonde friend as he left the room. Turning his head, he came to focus on warm, loving, blood-colored eyes. He gently bit his lip before saying, "I'm sorry about the bite thing…really I am. I didn't mean it to be an insult-"

"Harry, my tone, if you hadn't noticed, was incredulous. By marking me in such a way, I would be signified as your lifetime mate. I'd be honored for that, Harry, because I know just how caring and loving you can be and I would love for you to help me realize those emotions." Tom paused to kiss him tenderly. "I'd absolutely love it if you would help me to live instead of only survive so that a prophecy dictating either of our ends is null and void."

The Animagus leaned forward to steal another kiss before saying, "Nothing would make me happier," as he cast a heating charm on the slowly cooling water, prolonging their stay in the liquid and Tom's stay with him because he knew that, if himself was any indication, the other had to be too comfortable to want to leave.

--End Four--


	5. Chapter 5

Blood Mage

Chapter Five

DISCLAIMER: Any original, un-copyright ideas are mine. All the ones that are copyright belong to J.K. Rowling.

(--)

Harry had been walking up and down the hallways of Hogwarts, not really keeping track of where he was. The soft leather of his outfit made no sound whatsoever, thankfully not giving him away if someone came by him. _It's sad… I already miss him so much,_ he realized, thinking of Tom and the fact that it had been almost three weeks since he'd seen him. _He's the only person I think I've ever cared about this much. I can't say so for my parents because I've never known them… Ron has proved himself distrustful… I'm afraid to, depressingly, fully trust 'Mione, Gin, and Dray… Siri's gone for the time being…_

A sigh came from the ex-Gryffindor as he ran a hand through his hair. "This is nuts," he whispered as he scuffed his boot lightly on the ground. It didn't make a sound, causing him to appreciate the silencing charms laced into the footwear by himself. "Well, I've got Remus, too. I can't forget my Uncle Wolfie," he continued with a slight smile, still mumbling under his breath.

"Hey! Potter!" Harry looked up, seeing a person that ripped a growl from him.

"What do you want? I've no time for backstabbers, Weasley," he snarled, pushing away from the stone wall. He hadn't noticed that his smallest glamours were failing in his temper. Snarling again, he narrowed his eyes when the redhead laughed at him.

"Spelling some fake fangs, are we, Potter? Ickle vampire?" the Gryffindor taunted as two other Gryffindors came up behind him.

"Why bother with a traitor, Ron? Let him play Halloween." The multi-haired teen let a smirk come over his face as he looked at Katie Bell, his former teammate. "What are you smirking about, you snake?!"

"These are far from fake, my friends," he whispered but his voice still carried. A nearly insane grin stretched across his face as he dragged one fang across the length of his forearm, licking away the blood that had spilled on his lips. "Never tempt the Shadows or you may find yourself swallowed," Harry added as he let his arm fall to his side, blood dripping to the floor from the cut he hadn't let heal yet.

"Y-You're a f-freak!" the other Gryffindor shouted, his voice stuttering as he pointed at Harry. Suddenly, the leather-clad form blurred and disappeared, scaring what seemed to be a Third or Second Year. "Merlin!"

"That's right," the boy found whispered into his ear with warm, blood-scented breath. "Fear the freak," Harry added, blurring to stand beside Katie. "Fear the Shadows," he finished, breathing the statement into his former friend's ear before reappearing to stand in front of them with an insane string of chuckles. "Are you…frightened by me? Little Boy-Who-Lived? The one who has more luck than power? The one that Professor Snape picks on constantly? The one who never knew his parents? The one who caused numerous people to die?"

"W-wha…what are you…?" the youngest Weasley son stuttered, his face still an unnatural shade of white at the scene of his ex-best friend slicing his own flesh open. "Y-You're n-not…h-hum-man…"

"Hmm…it doesn't matter. After all, I did scream at Dumbledore that I no longer wanted to be human, didn't I? But, I digress…" Harry said, trailing off as he swiped his arm through the air, drawing forth Gryffindor's Sword before he vanished from sight. Appearing behind Ron, he had the blade pressed into the Weasley's throat. "Are you ready to face the consequences of your actions? The consequences of telling Dumbledore about my every step? The consequences of revealing every secret I've ever told you? The consequences of being a backstabbing spy of a best friend?"

Katie Bell looked at Ron with realization then anger present in her eyes at that revelation. "You spilled the beans on Harry?!" she screeched at the redhead, making him cringe from the shout in his ear. "You sorry sack of worthlessness!" she added before stepping away from him and walking backwards to where Harry had been standing. "I think it is _you_ who we don't know, Ronald Weasley. Neville Longbottom was right. Harry _is_ the best person anyone could meet, until you cross him.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Harry…" she started as she fixed a saddened gaze on the multi-haired teen. "I'm so sorry for how you've been wronged… You are the nicest and kindest person I've ever met, even if we only really saw each other on the Quidditch Pitch.

"I hope you can forgive the stupidity of an Apprentice-former-Seventh-Year…" She looked away from him before looking back into softly smiling eyes. "I'm going to help Neville make everyone realize that you aren't a bad person for going into Slytherin. You've broken away from chains, Harry…chains of those that have tried to control you. It's no wonder people admire you so much."

"Thank you, Katie… Er…could I ask you to say 'hi' to Hagrid for me when you see him?" he asked, knowing that she was Apprenticed in Care of Magical Creatures under his first, mostly-human friend.

"Of course, Harry. I'm still in the Gryffindor Dorms, too, so drop by some time," she answered before leaving off down the hallway.

All too quickly, the Slytherin's face lost its happy gleam, instead focusing on loathing for his former friend. "Ronald Weasley…you are not worth my time. Leave," he stated, throwing the redhead away from him but making sure to pierce his sword through the Weasley's left forearm, leaving a long slice in his skin. "I don't want to see you again until I absolutely must," Harry added as he relinquished the Sword of Gryffindor back into his magic. Turning his back on the redhead, he slid his hands into his pockets and walked off down the hallway. _'I hate stupid people.'_

_'So do I, Harry. What has sparked this realization?'_ Tom asked with a curious tone. Harry sent him the memory, a small smile coming to his lips when the Dark Lord's laughter echoed through his head. _'Well, I suppose the Weasley boy would swear anyone away from redheads.'_

_'But his sister is a wonderful person! She's smart and gives different points of view a chance! One reason why, I believe, our dear Mr. Malfoy has been caught on her fishing line,'_ Harry responded as he continued his trek through the countless halls of his home. _'I just don't understand it, Tom… Why are people so…_racist_, I suppose, over something that can't be prevented.'_

_'What do you mean, Harry?'_

_'Well, you can't _choose_ which House you go into, though I most certainly did because the Hat was in a war over Slytherin, because of my qualities, and Gryffindor, because of my bloodline.'_ At the shock coursing through their connection, Harry said, _'Yes, love…I'm an heir, as well. I'm able to wield Gryffindor's Sword.'_

_'What can't you do, Harry?'_ Tom asked softly, the paperwork he had been filling out long forgotten, along with the quill he had dropped in his momentary lapse. _'You are amazing, Harry, do you know that?'_

_'You've made it a point to inform me of this, yes,'_ the teen answered with a wry smirk curving his lips as he traversed deeper into the school. Suddenly stopping and looking around, he cursed. _'Shit… Tom, I'm lost. Oh well. If I haven't seen it, I know no one else has. I'll just let my feet lead me wherever Lady Hogwarts wants me to go.'_

_'That's the spirit, Harry!'_

_'Hush, you.'_ With a smile, Harry continued on his trek through the unknown parts of his home.

--

Three hours later, during lunch, Harry found himself _still_ lost. "Are you going to keep me locked away in your inner sanctum, Lady Hogwarts?" he asked with an amused tone as he leaned against the wall, sitting on the floor to give his legs some rest. He blinked when words formed on the wall across from him.

I was hoping to, they read.

"I had no idea you could communicate like this, milady," Harry said with no small amount of wonder.

No does because no one communicates to me…except for you, the sentient being replied.

Harry had a sense that the castle was saddened by that fact. "I'm sorry, Lady. If I had known…I would have spoken to you much, much more."

Your love for me is enough, Harry, but I wouldn't mind your conversation either, she consoled. There is something I wish to tell you, though, that I think you are afraid to admit to yourself.

"What is it, Madame?"

Salazar's Heir, young Tom Riddle… He is correct, Harry. You are not what you believe you are. The writing paused here, the castle thinking of how to word what she wanted to say. Harry… You are the purest soul I've ever seen come into my halls… Such a pure soul that the world has taken so much from yet given back so little. I think, dear child, that it is time you stopped giving so much or the world will take everything you have left…including young Tom Riddle.

"I know, Madame… That has turned into one of my biggest fears…" Harry sighed, wrapping his arms around himself as he bit his lip. "The only thing I could do at the moment is escape Dumbledore…but I'd have to leave you… I don't want that to happen until it must…"

Harry… Kick him out. You know that you are _more_ than _only_ Gryffindor's Heir, do you not?

"W-what?!"

Yes, dear child… Your mother, Lily Potter, wasn't a Muggleborn, either. She is descended of Slytherin and Ravenclaw while your father is of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Your mother, though… Her sister, your aunt, was a squib. That is why she hated all things magic _so_ vehemently.

"I…I'm…descended of all the Founders?" Harry asked, shocked beyond what he thought was his limits for that emotion.

Not only them, dear child… When, as a babe, you first entered my halls…I judged you and your future. You, by me, were deemed to be _my_ heir as well. You are the fabled Heir of Hogwarts. The writing paused again, letting Harry soak in this information. When he grinned, he could have sworn the castle did, as well. Correct, dear child. You own this castle and school. If ever you wanted, you could evict this rotten Headmaster, who uses my power to shape all of the minds of these wonderful children, yourself included, to his own thoughts and ideas, and bring in…Tom, possibly?

"You must really like Tom, Madame," Harry stated, the grin still stretching his lips.

Very much so, Harry. What you have realized, and what other people fail to even think about, is the fact that he is no longer on a one-track mind of killing all Muggle related creations. He knows, now that his bout of insanity has fallen away, that killing all Muggleborns will destroy the wizarding race and world. It will turn all families into those like his mother's, the Gaunts.

The Gaunts were the last of the pureblood line of Salazar Slytherin. Merope, his mother, fell in love with a Muggle, Tom Riddle, Senior. When she stopped giving him love potions, hoping that he would truly love her, and told him she was a witch, he immediately left her – on the streets and pregnant with the very one you care so much for. The poor woman died giving birth to him, and, by that dunderhead of a Headmaster, was returned to an abusive orphanage summer after summer.

I would have gladly kept Tom here, and the old fool knew it. He returned Tom, time after time, to that orphanage because Dumbledore wanted a man with such power to idolize him and feel as if he owed Dumbledore, thus staying under his thumb. Instead, Tom turned into Lord Voldemort, a hater of everything Muggle. So, the codger tried again, but with you, and he is lucky you haven't decided to destroy everything much the same way Tom had.

"If I want, I can kick the old fart out and call for Tom to be the Headmaster…and no one can say anything about it?" Harry asked, his face shadowed to keep his anger hidden. "The Board of Governors and Ministry can do absolutely _nothing_?"

Very correct, dear child. With myself proving the claim of you being my heir, no one can stop you while you are under my jurisdiction. They all know that I am a _very_ sentient being. The words paused their coming again before the castle continued, Also, you can evict anyone else that you like.

"Dumbledore's kept _far_ too many secrets from me in his too-long life," Harry growled as he stood. "Is there anything else you would like for me to know at this time, Lady?"

Yes. I am going to impart in you the knowledge of every single passageway within me. There are places that even the Marauders, kind and generous souls they were to impart laughter to everyone, though I must say their targeting of Severus Snape was brutal and I would have given them a spanking if I could have, have no knowledge of.

"Whenever you're ready," Harry replied, lowering his Occlumency barriers carefully. A moment later, he was grateful that he was sitting down because all the knowledge that entered his head had him out like a light.

What felt like maybe ten minutes later, the teen awoke with his head feeling fuzzy and as if his brain wasn't connected to his limbs anymore. I suppose I should have warned you about that, the wall had written upon it, waiting for him to see it.

"You think?" he grumbled, reconstructing his barriers quickly while he reviewed over the secrets given to him.

_Actually, yes, I do,_ he heard in his mind from a musical, rhythmic, feminine voice. _Because you allowed me to open a mindlink between us._

"That's…amazing…" Harry paused, speechless at the abilities of his home's sentience. "Er…do you have a name I can call you?"

_Just call me Lady, Harry._ He could have sworn the castle was smiling. _What do you say to getting rid of Albus Dumbledore?_

"Nothing would make me happier, Lady," he replied with a fierce grin. _'Tom?'_

'_Hmm?'_

'_Could you…come to the castle? I've got an unbelievable offer for you.'_

'_Are you going to tell me what this offer is?'_

'_Most certainly…_not_. I'd hate to ruin the surprise! Come through the Entrance Hall doors, if you would?'_

'_What do you have up your sleeve?'_

'_I'm wearing a sleeveless tank, Tom. Just come, please?'_ Harry heard a deep sigh from his supposed-enemy before feeling an affirmative. _'Thanks, love!'_ He ran through the hallways, having found his way because of the knowledge imparted to him by Hogwarts. "I need to get to the dungeons…quickly," he whispered to himself as he dived behind a tapestry to bring himself to the Third Floor. "Dammit!" he growled under his breath.

_Here, Harry. Behind the blank canvas!_

"Thank you, Lady." Harry moved swift as a blur through the passages, secret and not, before finding the dark stones of the dungeons greeting him. "I thank you again," he mumbled with a slight smile before pulling a mock-thoughtful expression over his face. Hands in his pockets, Harry slowly moved through the hallways towards the Entrance Hall.

Abruptly, he heard the doors slam open. _Ouch_ Hogwarts grumbled in his head as a mask of curiosity replaced the thoughtful look. Walking to the large room, he found Dumbledore had gotten there first. _Get to him, Harry. Remember, Dumbledore has no power here._

_I know, Lady,_ Harry thought toward the enchanted school. "Professor…? Who is that? He looks…familiar…?" he asked as he sent a wink to who he knew to be Tom while walking up behind the aging Headmaster.

"Stay back, Harry. That's Voldemort," the old man answered, stepping to stand between them while tossing a spell toward Harry to knock him away.

Unconsciously, Harry blocked it, sending it into the wall. _Sorry, Lady,_ he sent to the castle as he looked at Tom with furrowed eyebrows. "Headmaster…I'd certainly never forget what Voldemort looks like and…he doesn't look anything like that! He's all scaly and _doesn't_ have a _nose_!" he declared loudly, raising an eyebrow at the old man. _'How's my acting?'_

'_Sexy,'_ Tom replied, his eyes, brown under his glamour, resting on the Boy-Who-Lived's frame as he gestured and spoke. "I am sorry to say that I do not take kindly to that offence, Mr. Dumbledore. I happen to have a nose for it is as plain on my face as my skin shows no _scales_." Tom narrowed his eyes before a smirk curved his lips. "Mr. Potter… A word, if you would?"

"Of course, sir," Harry answered, a soft smile on his face as he walked over to whom he knew to be the Dark Lord. He and Tom walked over to a corner before they both cast multiple privacy spells, some illegal from their consequences for eavesdroppers. "I'm glad you came, Tom… I found out that…I'm more than Gryffindor's Heir… I'm…the Hogwarts's Heir…"

Tom's eyes were impossibly wide as he stared at his former enemy and the color started to bleed into scarlet, making Harry grateful that _he_ was the one facing Dumbledore. "Harry… You never cease to amaze me…"

"I can't have life getting dull, can I?" the teen asked softly, a grin stretching his lips. If it weren't for the students starting to gather, and Dumbledore, Tom would have kissed the grin from his face. As it were, Harry recast the glamour over the man's eyes with the same strength as his own. "Come on. People are starting to crowd about."

"Of course, Harry. So, what's this plan of yours?" Tom asked, but the teen was tightlipped as they walked back over to Dumbledore.

"I've curbed his anger, Headmaster…but not my own."

"What do you mean, my boy?" Dumbledore asked and, when he sighted the narrowing of the ex-Gryffindor's eyes, he realized he'd made a mistake.

"I now release you, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, of your duties as Headmaster of Lady Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…well within my abilities as Heir of Hogwarts, Salazar, Rowena, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff." A growl tore itself from him as he added, "Get out of my home."

"You are acting rashly, Harry-"

"That's Mr. Potter to you, _EX_-Headmaster. I said…GET OUT!" Again, the Entrance Doors of Hogwarts were thrown open, though gently. The glamours started bleeding away from Harry, including the one he had cast on Tom's eyes. "Be gone, Dumbledore."

The Dark Lord came up behind Harry, circling his arms around the three-inch-shorter teen. "I'd suggest you pack up, old fool, before Madame Hogwarts does it for you." As a stream of silver, whirring objects came flying by them, followed by more of the white-haired man's things, Tom added, "Oops… Too late," with a smirk.

"What have you done, Harry?" Dumbledore asked in a last ploy of guilt to the teen, wishing he had taken better care to keep his weapon under control.

"I've taken my life from you and into my own hands. I'm living, and I'm going to help Tom to do the same so that the _prophecy_ is null and void," the powerful sixteen-year-old replied, spitting the word 'prophecy' as if it was a bad taste in his mouth. Another grin took over his face, flashing his fangs, as he looked out at all the students that had gathered around them. The crowd was practically the entirety of Hogwarts. "I'd suggest, my fellow students, that you follow my example.

"Even Lady Hogwarts despises Dumbledore, who uses her power for naught but his own gain. If you'd like, ask her yourself," he said to them. "I assure you, she'll answer to those who need and love her. After all, a young boy named Tom Riddle needed her, but was denied by Dumbledore, the very fool standing before you. Now, you see what Tom has become: Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord…standing directly behind me."

"Hogwarts!" a voice shouted, one Harry recognized as Hermione's, "Is what Harry says true?"

You should listen to the young man standing before you, was written across the wall, directly in everyone's sight. And yes, my Heir speaks truth. Each of you have had your minds taunted and turned by the old man standing in your midst. Even the noble Order of the Phoenix has had their views tarnished by his greed. Also, a spirit so pure as the one trying to reveal this to you… Look closely and tell me what you see!

Many students were shocked at the fact that the school had answered the girl's call, though four Gryffindors and one Slytherin were far from it. "I see a man who has lost too much," Katie said for them all. "I see a man who has given everything he ever had to serve a cause that held only oblivion to those he had been trying to help… A man that has been manipulated into nearly killing the only one he could come to love by a power-hungry fool that feels he needs to stay in the spotlight to survive."

Very good, Katie Bell. For a Gryffindor, you are observant. I see Miss Rowena's house in you because of that. The writing paused before it seemed to be directed onto Dumbledore alone, who had been rooted to his place as if struck by lightning. I _do_ hope you enjoyed your time of reign, Albus Dumbledore. GOOD! BYE!

The man was lifted bodily into the air. "Bombshells are lovely," Tom stated, laughing when the powerful, yet idiotic man was flung outside to follow his possessions. In plain view of everyone, Fawkes flew to the still-shocked man and, going about his business, left a present on the ex-headmaster's robes before flying back into the school to hover before Harry. "I think he likes you, Harry."

"I like him, too," the teen said softly and with a serene smile on his face as the Entrance Doors closed themselves. "If you wish to stay, Fawkes, you are more than welcome. But, if you wish to return to where you are originally from, you won't be faulted for it." Suddenly, two spheres of the elements, one of ice and the other of ice wrapped in flame, appeared beside him, the one in the middle smaller, before revealing a beautiful phoenix of a silvery blue on the right. A golden-shining-red and silver-shining-blue phoenix was between them. "You and your family are welcome here…always."

A trill came from Fawkes before his mate followed him in song. The little firebird in the middle, instead of singing along, flew to Harry to nuzzle his cheek. A word flew into his mind before the phoenix's fire-like eyes, gold around the pupil before fading into silver, bored into his own Avada-Kedavra-colored irises. The word entered his mind again, seeming to beckon him. The bi-colored eyes held a smile in them.

"Sempiterna," he finally spoke, his voice having a feathery quality to it. Something stirred in him at that moment and, quickly, he pushed Tom away from him before it burst out. He and the phoenix were the only ones still within the ring of magic. The shockwave had knocked everyone else away. "Your name…Sempiterna… It's beautiful."

He could have sworn the phoenix had winked at him before it flew to him and perched on his shoulder. Sempiterna's eyes stared into his own. The phoenix nuzzled him again, and he felt a feminine touch come from it. Raising his eyebrow, the beautiful firebird nodded. A grin broke out on his face as the power surrounding the two slowly shrank into their bodies.

It was after that when Harry finally felt the intense happiness from Tom, causing a slight bit of the confusion encompassing him to come from the fact that it wasn't hurting him. He was forced to ignore it for the moment when he felt another presence sliding into his mind, along with Hogwarts and Tom. Although there was a third being making a mindlink with him, it felt more like it was part of himself than an actual separate being. _'Tom…what just happened?'_

'_She's your familiar, Harry! She's an Icefire Phoenix!'_ the ecstatic Dark Lord answered, coming back to Harry to hug him tightly. "Congratulations, Harry… Your familiar is a phoenix…"

"Is there a reason you're so shocked at this?" the teen returned with a smirk.

"Ah…life is _never_ dull with you around, that is for certain." Tom pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Phoenix familiars are as rare as the Icefire Phoenix on your shoulder, Harry."

"Dumblefuck had Fawkes for a familiar, didn't he?" The firebird trilled a laugh that seemed mocking to Harry. "I…suppose not. Sorry for the insult, Fawkes," he added.

"Quit downplaying this! It's absolutely… Oh, _fuck it all_," Tom growled between clenched teeth before tilting his head to kiss the teen, his hormones having taken over in his lapse in concentration.

"Sweet Merlin! That's bloody hot!" a voice shouted in the crowd, getting laughter from many people, including Slytherins.

"Thank you, Ginny, for that announcement," Harry said to her and could already feel the smack she had prepared for later. "Oh! Another thing: I, as Heir of Hogwarts, formally request for Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Voldemort, to become Headmaster of Lady Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, until such a time as he no longer chooses to do so."

"I formally accept," the red-eyed wizard stated simply before the most girlish scream to ever come from a male's mouth ripped through the Entrance Hall. An eyebrow shot up into Tom's hairline as he looked over at the Great Hall doors. "What the hell was that?!"

"That, love, would be Ronald Weasley," Harry answered. "The only person in Lady Hogwarts who would rather eat than come and see what the huge commotion is about, thus missing Dumblefuck's timely exit." Lifting his hands, he cast a volume charm on them before slapping them together, getting everyone's attention. "All right, now that I've got you looking at me and _not_ shocked out of your minds, I'm going to tell you now that if you run about screaming about the Dark Lord coming to kill you all and me aiding him, I'll be sending you to the Hospital Wing with no small amount of scars.

"The now-Headmaster Voldemort isn't as evil as you all think. Being bodiless for thirteen years will make anyone insane. With sanity renewed, we can tell he's not as…nuts as he was before because he probably would have killed me and all of you by now.

"Yes, I know that just _telling_ you this won't be good enough. You will have to realize it for yourself. My only suggestion is that you take into account what Lady Hogwarts has told you and the fact that you are still alive," Harry said to the gathered students. A sudden shout echoed from the teen's right before he found himself tackled by a brunette, bushy-haired, surrogate sister. "Okay, 'Mione…I think you've got your point across…" he coughed out, feeling like he was turning blue.

Suddenly, she whipped around to face Tom. "I know you're a 'big, bad, Dark Lord', but don't you _dare_ hurt my brother or you'll find out what an angry woman on PMS is like, Tom Marvolo Riddle," she growled, her eyes glowing a faint creamy color.

"Duly noted, Miss Granger," he responded with a slight smile, admiring her courage to stand up for those she cared deeply for. "Now…Harry, could you show me the way to the Headmaster's Office?" he asked the teen, a glimmer in his red eyes.

Harry's eyebrows rose up suggestively as Sempiterna flew to her parents. "Of course, Headmaster Voldemort," he answered before grinning. "You need to _punish _me for my trick, after all, don't you?" Taking the Dark Lord's hand, they vanished before everyone's eyes in a flash of scarlet, rippling light. Appearing in the office, Harry quickly misted the portraits over and cast so many privacy charms that Tom's eyes looked like they were going to roll out of their sockets. "I like my privacy."

"I see that," was the wry response. "I like my Krymzyn (crimson)."

"I've got another nickname, do I, Voldie?" A growl came from Tom at the mocking, sending a shiver from the tip of the multi-haired teen's head to the reaches of his toes. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to fuck you now."

"Please do," Harry retorted with a grin. "My fangs are itching to sink into your neck," he added quickly and before his words could be swallowed by the red-eyed man's mouth.

--End Five--


	6. Chapter 6

Blood Mage

Chapter Six

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it if it's copyright.

(--)

At the forcefulness of the Dark Lord, Harry couldn't resist a moan. He'd been thinking of letting Tom hear him scream since their time in the bath three weeks ago. Having been missing the now-Headmaster so much that he couldn't really focus in classes unless he'd been able to see him in his dreams, Harry found that the Lord Voldemort was actually someone that kept him going through the day.

_If that isn't part of love…then I don't know what it is,_ he had figured at the time, his remembrance of it as his leather shirt was pulled over his head causing him to smile at Tom. "I've got a surprise for you," he said breathlessly.

"Oh?" the red-eyed man asked curiously, his favorite seductive smirk taking over his features.

"Nuh uh," Harry answered, "Not until we show this room a good time." He pulled Tom back to him, passionately kissing the Dark wizard. Enticing the man's tongue into his mouth with his own, he gently sucked on the warm muscle and earned himself an arousing groan. "You're addicting," the teen admitted softly as he let any and all glamours fall away from him.

"You're gorgeous. What's the difference?" Tom retorted with a chuckle and smile that reached his blood-colored irises. Aforementioned eyes became unmovable from Harry's as the teen's glowed a fiery, Avada-lime color. Letting out a pleased sound, Tom attacked the multi-haired Blood Mage's neck, tracing kisses to his ear before lifting him to sit on the desk, reaching him easily enough to trace scars with his tongue then sucking on the ex-Gryffindor's nipples. He got quite a reaction of the teen, though he was still quiet. "I want to hear you scream for me, Harry…my Krymzyn."

"You'll have to _make_ me," was the breathy reply as a slight whimper came from the loss of contact. He lay back on the desk and buried his hands in his hair. "Don't leave me like this, Tom…"

"I wasn't planning to," was the Dark Lord's reply as he fit perfectly between Harry's legs and lay over him, pressing their bare chests together. "I had to get those stifling robes off."

"Ah," was all Harry was able to say for a response because Tom was palming his aching cock through the leather of his trousers. "Damn, damn, _damn_," the teen moaned as his claws pierced the wood of the desk, which he was gripping like a man hanging onto sanity. "_Tom_," he whimpered, squirming slightly as the pieces of the desk crumbled in his hands and his nails pierced his skin.

"Not this time, Harry… You'll not be getting pain from me…yet…" Tom said, catching the smirk on the teen's face at the last word of his sentence. "Be patient," he added, leaning up to cover the Blood Mage's lips with his own as he slid the material clinging to the teen's hips down his legs, spelling the rest into a neat pile in a chair on the other side of the room.

Lifting himself up, Harry used his magically enhanced strength to push the Dark Lord into a chair, waving his hand to rid Tom of his last clothing. "Something to keep you…_occupied_," he said with a saucy grin before taking the older wizard's erection into his mouth. Flicking his tongue over the head with a slight roughness to stimulate his soon-to-be-lover, he listened to the unintelligible mumbles coming from the most powerful Dark Lord recorded in history. The fact that he could reduce the man to his carnal desires pleased Harry more than he thought he was pleasing Tom.

"Fuck… Harry… Feels so good…" the red-eyed wizard finally ground out between clenched teeth, hazily noting that the teen didn't hold his hips down. Carefully, he thrust into the warmth that was the green-eyed Slytherin's mouth. Harry relaxed his throat easily, having been waiting for when the brunette would do so. Pressing his tongue to the man's erection, licking it as he was to, Harry heard the "Gonna…come…" that Tom said around a bitten lip.

Pushing the man's hips down with his forearm, Harry wrapped his fingers around the base of the man's cock. "We can't have that," he said softly, whispering it with a tone that spoke of something Tom couldn't put a finger on in his aroused state of mind. Harry picked up a question from the furthest reaches of the man's thoughts and gave a chuckle as he answered, "I'm composed because _I_ was the one giving the blow job."

"Krymzyn…we're defiling that desk in the next five minutes." At the grin from the sixteen-year-old, Tom groaned as he roughly kissed him, raising out of the chair to push him onto the desk. Waving his hand, the brunette felt Harry shiver lightly from the chill of the lubricating charm before he had to break the kiss to release a breathy sigh as Tom's index finger slid into him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, just…shit that's cold…" Harry answered, leaning over to bury his face in Tom's neck as a second finger entered him. "Never been prepared before…" he whispered with a smile against the man's flesh. He bit his lip when a third joined the other two, wincing when his teeth pierced his lip. A long moan escaped him when Tom's fingers brushed against his prostate. _And here I thought I didn't have one,_ he mused to himself, remembering all the times his uncle had his way with him. "D-do that…again… Please…" he requested softly.

"Anything for my Krymzyn," was the equally soft reply before the spot was brushed again. Another lubricating charm was cast before Tom wrapped his arms around the teen and pressed the head of his cock against the younger wizard's entrance. "…Ready?"

"Just…do it…" Harry answered through a mewl-like sound before finding himself being pulled down as Tom pushed up. The teenager trembled as the erection of the red-eyed man was pushed into him and grasped tightly onto the man's shoulders. Another moan was pulled from him when the older wizard pressed against his prostate. "Damn…" he groaned slowly.

"Are you…all right?" Tom asked in a tight voice, trying to keep from thrusting into the tight heat around his cock so as not to hurt Harry.

"Peachy," Harry sighed with a smile pressing into the man's neck. "I was wondering…when you were going to…let me have…at the least…a tiny bit of pain," he added, gasping between words. "Move…"

Tom started a slow rhythm before speeding up, hitting the teen's prostate each time. "I don't…wanna hurt…you, Harry," he gasped, biting his lip as he reached between them and gently stroked the ex-Gryffindor's cock, the other hand tracing scars with a sensual touch. Soon enough, the strokes were matching the pace and, lo and behold, Harry screamed Tom's name. It was shocking enough that the teen did so that it caused them to come at the same time before Harry sunk his fangs in his now-lover's neck.

Tom moaned as the teen licked at the blood leaking down his neck like his Animagus form would. Harry, with a mental grin at the moan, traced his tongue over the bite, which had been in the most sensitive skin of the Dark wizard's neck. "Mmm… Your blood tastes good…"

"I hope so…" was spoken around another sound as Harry nipped and sucked on the mark then licked and kissed it in apology for the rough treatment. "Was my surprise your scream?"

"Half of it," Harry answered before lifting his face to gaze into Tom's eyes, his own containing a smile. "I love you."

Tom stared at him, utterly shocked – all the way to his magical core. "You…do?" Harry nodded with a smile before two strong arms tightened almost painfully around him, pulling him close to the red-eyed wizard. "I love you, too, Harry…I'm certain of it…"

"Well, if I'm right, I'm the first person to ever say that to the Dark Lord, too, so that makes my love for you twice as special!" the teen responded before warmth, not of Tom, wrapped around him. At the wonderment on the other's face, he was certain that he wasn't the only one who felt it. "It's Lady Hogwarts… She gives us her blessing," he explained as a ball of icy flame appeared beside them. "Sempiterna! I'm naked!"

A trill that sounded like a laugh came from the ball of elements before the Icefire Phoenix revealed herself. _ I offer my blessing, as well, Sir Blood Mage, _ the magical being sent into his mind.

"Harry… I'm just Harry."

--END—

Don't worry, I'm going to try to make a sequel – if it's wanted!!! If it's not, then I'm not going to bother with it. But, if I am making one, it'll be a _VERY_ short time frame after this one. By short, I mean, at the most, a couple of months.

Anyway, pop me a review, will you? One for each chapter would be lovely because I want comments from EACH ONE about ANYthing in each one. If you tell me about something in the sixth one about something in the third one, I'm only going to get confused by thinking: _Wait a second… Did I put that in my story? Or was it in another chapter?_


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